Risky or Not?

A short podcast about everyday risks from germs

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A sealed bag of chargrilled cooked chicken sits upright against a neutral background. One chicken piece is stuck in the top seam, with the exposed end unusually blue. The packaging features clear plastic with bold blue labels reading “COOKED CHICKEN” and “CHARGRILLED 60g,” showing grilled chicken pieces inside.

806. Chicken From a Bag With Chicken in the Seam

August 04, 2025 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from eating cooked chicken from a bag where one piece of chicken was caught in the bag seam.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

  • Sainsbury's Chargrilled 60g | Sainsbury's
  • Miles Davis famously said "It's not the notes you play, it's the notes you don't play." Who are some bassists that excel at judiciously choosing their notes? : r/Bass


August 04, 2025 /Don Schaffner
Chicken, Sealing, Cross-contamination

“Figure” from Deep States original message

801. Letting Your Drunk Partner Cook Raw Chicken While You Prepare a Fresh Salad in a Small Kitchen

July 23, 2025 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of preparing a salad in a small kitchen while your drunk partner cooks raw chicken.

Dr. Don - risky ☣️
Professor Ben - risky ☣️

  • About Campylobacter infection | Campylobacter | CDC
  • Salmonella Infection | Salmonella Infection | CDC
  • Chicken and Food Poisoning | Food Safety | CDC
July 23, 2025 /Don Schaffner
Cross-contamination, Drunk, Chicken, Salad

An open white cooler sits on the ground, filled with raw chicken pieces. A digital thermometer inserted into one piece reads 67°F. There’s no ice inside, and the cooler appears stained and weathered, suggesting it’s been sitting outdoors for a while during a camping trip.

796. Raw Chicken That Is at 67 °F After More Than 12 Hours

July 11, 2025 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of eating properly cooked chicken that warmed up to 67 °F after about 12 hours prior to cooking.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

  • ComBase
  • FSIS Cooking Guideline for Meat and Poultry Products (Revised Appendix A) December, 2021
  • Risk Assessment Predicts Most of the Salmonellosis Risk in Raw Chicken Parts is Concentrated in Those Few Products with High Levels of High-Virulence Serotypes of Salmonella - ScienceDirect
  • Dr. Matthew Stasiewicz – Stasiewicz Food Safety Laboratory
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July 11, 2025 /Don Schaffner
Chicken, Time temperature control for safety food, Camping

A man with wavy hair and a beard eats fried chicken at a wooden table in a repurposed restroom. Behind him are visible urinals and a toilet, set against retro green tile walls. The scene is warmly lit, blending quirky discomfort with a casual, oddly content dining atmosphere.

785. Fried Chicken From a Old Public Restroom in a State Park

June 16, 2025 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from eating fried chicken from a from a public restroom in a state park that has been converted into a restaurant.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

  • Belle Isle - The Chicken Coupe
  • Instagram - Chicken Coupe 1
  • Instagram - Chicken Coupe 2
  • Shared album - Dante Vozza - Google Photos - old
  • Shared album - Dante Vozza - Google Photos - new
  • N.C. Department of Health & Human Services Division of Public Health / Environmental Health Section / Plan Review Unit Food Establishment Plan Review Application
  • Chicken Coupe Chicken & Waffles | Detroit Restaurant Inspections
  • Violation Types | Washtenaw County, MI - Official Website
June 16, 2025 /Don Schaffner
Chicken, Restroom, Plan review

DALL·E - A man doing pushups in a busy public gym, with other people working out in the background on various machines and free weights. The man is in a plank with a chicken on his back.

675. Working Out in a Gym With a Live Chicken

October 02, 2024 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from working out in a gym with a live chicken.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

  • Monmouth University
  • CDC warns of Salmonella outbreaks linked to backyard poultry flocks | CDC Online Newsroom | CDC
  • Risk factors for Salmonella persistence after cleansing and disinfection in French broiler-chicken houses - ScienceDirect
  • 611. Eating at a Restaurant Under a Bridge — Risky or Not?
  • 535. Adults Eating at Picnic Tables With a Little Bit of Dried Bird Poop — Risky or Not?
October 02, 2024 /Don Schaffner
Gym, Chicken, Cross-contamination

DALL·E - A detailed image of a spatchcocked chicken resting in a refrigerator. The chicken is spread out flat, with the skin facing up, and placed on a rack next to a fan.

661. Blowing Air Over Raw Chicken

August 30, 2024 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of blowing air over raw chicken.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

  • Alton Brown | Dry that chicken! #chicken #refrigeratorlife #goodeats | Instagram
  • Brian Brozovic on X: "#riskyornot, taking into account FSIS Appendix A will be followed for cooking, so specifically airborne risk from household fan being applied to direct surface of raw poultry for rapid thawing @benjaminchapman @bugcounter https://t.co/VYPEPFokjd" / X
  • Airborne Bacteria and Carcass Contamination in Slaughterhouses - ScienceDirect
  • Distribution and Prevalence of Airborne Microorganisms in Three Commercial Poultry Processing Plants - ScienceDirect
  • Microbial Composition in Bioaerosols of a High-Throughput Chicken-Slaughtering Facility - ScienceDirect
  • Mechanically Ventilated Broiler Sheds: a Possible Source of Aerosolized Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Escherichia coli | Applied and Environmental Microbiology
  • Temperature control: food safety tips | North Devon Council
August 30, 2024 /Don Schaffner
Aerosols, Chicken, Salmonella, Campylobacter

DALL·E - An open refrigerator with various items inside. The main focus is a fast food chicken taco wrapped up tightly in packaging, which has the name of a generic fast food restaurant.

635. Eating 3-Day-Old Fast Food Chicken Tacos

July 01, 2024 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of eating properly refrigerated 3-day-old fast food chicken tacos.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

  • Merch — Risky or Not?
  • Carnac the Magnificent - Wikipedia
  • Who Has The Worst Fast Food Leftovers? - YouTube
  • FoodKeeper App | FoodSafety.gov
July 01, 2024 /Don Schaffner
Chicken, Leftovers, Tacos

DALL·E - A clean-shaven man eating a big piece of very raw chicken. He looks very nauseous, with his eyebrows furrowed and a grimace on his face…

600. Eating Raw Chicken Every Day

April 10, 2024 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of eating raw chicken every day.

Dr. Don - risky ☣️
Professor Ben - risky ☣️

  • Family Feud
  • Florida man takes on bizarre challenge of eating raw chicken every day | WFLA
  • Raw Chicken Experiment (@rawchickenexperiment) • Instagram photos and videos
  • April Fools' Day - Wikipedia
  • Baseline Data Raw Chicken Parts
  • USDA Progress Report Salmonella Campylobacter CY2014
  • Performance Standards Salmonella Verification Program for Raw Poultry Products | Food Safety and Inspection Service

Don wrote a small QMRA on this topic, available here https://go.rutgers.edu/rcQMRA

April 10, 2024 /Don Schaffner
Chicken, Salmonella, Campylobacter

DALL·E - A whimsical scene of a chicken sitting in a kitchen sink, embodying an unusual and humorous juxtaposition. The chicken, with its feathers fluffed out…

584. Chicken Washed With Bleach and Soap

March 04, 2024 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of eating chicken washed with bleach and soap

Dr. Don - risky ☣️
Professor Ben - risky ☣️

  • KING 👑 on X: "If y’all needed some understanding as to why you don’t eat at everybody’s house here’s some. https://t.co/N2BDpDavRq" / X
  • Cleaning and Disinfecting With Bleach | CDC
  • Effect of Exposure of Meat and Poultry to Chlorinated Water on the Retention of Chlorinated Compounds and Water - Cunningham - 1977 - Journal of Food Science - Wiley Online Library
  • Su1776 A Series of Detergent Pod Ingestions in Toddlers - Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
  • Household bleaches based on sodium hypochlorite: Review of acute toxicology and poison control center experience - ScienceDirect
  • Cleaning and Disinfectant Chemical Exposures and Temporal Associations with COVID-19 — National Poison Data System, United States, January 1, 2020–March 31, 2020 | MMWR
March 04, 2024 /Don Schaffner
Chicken, Chlorine bleach, Soap, Cleaning, Disinfection

DALL·E - A pile of raw chicken on top of a bowl of uncooked rice inside an open rice cooker

499. Cooking Raw Chicken in a Rice Cooker

August 18, 2023 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of cooking raw chicken in a rice cooker.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

  • Need an Idea for Easy Meal Prep? Make Dinner in Your Rice Cooker. - Eater
  • I’m all about low effort dishes that taste amazing.. and this is one o... | Rice Cooker Recipes | TikTok
  • 31: Rice Left in a Warming Rice Cooker Over Night — Risky or Not?
  • USDA FSIS Appendix A
  • Veronica (@squirrelchomp) / X
  • Chicken Dry Curry | Zojirushi.com
  • Rice Cooker Chicken and Soy Sauce Rice - Jasmine and Tea
August 18, 2023 /Don Schaffner
Salmonella, Chicken, Rice cooker

420. Chicken in a Waffle Maker

February 15, 2023 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of cooking chicken drumsticks in a waffle maker.

Dr. Don - risky ☣️
Professor Ben - risky ☣️

  • Christian Johnson Ent. 💫🏁 on Instagram: “CHICKEN ON A WAFFLE MAKER?? 🥴😳😂 #ChristianJohnsonComedy Follow Me! @christianjohnsoncomedy…”
  • Waffled Chicken with Spicy Syrup Recipe | Food Network Kitchen | Food Network
  • Location Finder | Maple Street Biscuit Company
February 15, 2023 /Don Schaffner
Chicken, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Waffle maker

362. Nyquil Chicken

October 03, 2022 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from making and eating Nyquil chicken.

Dr. Don - risky ☣️
Professor Ben - risky ☣️

  • F.D.A. Warning on NyQuil Chicken Alerts Many to Existence of NyQuil Chicken - The New York Times
  • A Recipe for Danger: Social Media Challenges Involving Medicines | FDA
  • What Cooking Chicken in NyQuil Actually Does to Your Body
  • Twitter's Main Character | Know Your Meme


October 03, 2022 /Don Schaffner
Memes, Nyquil, Chicken

353. Cooking Chicken in a Hotel Coffeepot

September 12, 2022 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of trying to cook a chicken in a "hotel" coffeepot.

Dr. Don - risky ☣️
Professor Ben - risky ☣️

  • Nick Dawson on Twitter: "@bugcounter @benjaminchapman from Reddit…chicken cooked in a hotel room coffee carafe 🤢https://t.co/t1Ad7LjgcO" / Twitter
  • Dave Harbarger on Twitter: "@bugcounter Apparently satire… but…here’s a link to the original poster on Twitter. https://t.co/z8kAeeszfL" / Twitter
  • The labeled this "Career advice" : insanepeoplefacebook
  • Alex Cohen on Twitter: "This is my best LinkedIn post to date https://t.co/lfyGEGHuo8" / Twitter
  • 👨‍🍳💋 : LinkedInLunatics
  • HUTTEN 9-bottle wine rack, solid wood - IKEA
  • How hot does a coffee maker hot plate get? | Espresso Expert
  • FSIS Cooking Guideline for Meat and Poultry Products (Revised Appendix A) | Food Safety and Inspection Service
September 12, 2022 /Don Schaffner
Cooking, Chicken, Hotel

These are a different kind of dino. Do Not Eat.

338. Precooked Frozen Dino Nuggies Eaten by 2.5 Year Old

August 08, 2022 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of a 2.5 year old eating precooked dino nuggies while still frozen.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - risky ☣️

  • chicken strips | Food Safety News
  • Fun Nuggets Dino Nuggets | Tyson® Brand
  • Dino-Buddies® (Rivercrest Industries, Inc.) | Dino-Buddies®
  • Oral Health in Canada: Health risks of frozen raw breaded chicken products: A local health unit perspective - PMC
  • Original Dinosaur-Shaped — Yummy Dino Buddies
  • Perdue Panko Breaded Chicken Breast Dino Nuggets - Frozen - 27oz : Target

Note this was recorded before the USDA FSIS announcement:

  • USDA Announces Action to Declare Salmonella an Adulterant in Breaded Stuffed Raw Chicken Products | USDA
August 08, 2022 /Don Schaffner
Salmonella, Chicken

331. Sucking the Air Out of a Bag of Raw Chicken

July 22, 2022 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of sucking the air out of a bag of raw chicken with your mouth.

Dr. Don - risky ☣️
Professor Ben - risky ☣️

  • Aerosol - Wikipedia
  • The straw method for vacuum sealing - General - Anova Community | Food Nerd Forum | Anova Culinary
  • Food Safety Talk 79: You’re Into Botulism Country (with Merlin Mann) — Food Safety Talk
  • Quantification of Microbial Aerosol Generation during Standard Laboratory Procedures | Applied Biosafety
July 22, 2022 /Don Schaffner
Chicken, Salmonella, Camylobacter, Aerosols
197.png

197. Raw Meat Sashimi

September 13, 2021 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of eating raw chicken meat sashimi.

Dr. Don - risky ☣️
Professor Ben - risky ☣️

  • Benjamin Schrager on Twitter: "My paper on raw chicken in Japan just got published!! Risky but Raw: On (Not) Regulating One of the Most High-Risk Dishes in Japan Thank you to @Gastronomica for the smooth process and reviewers for their insightful feedback. https://t.co/2mp9FpESDo" / Twitter
  • Risky but Raw | Gastronomica | University of California Press
  • Assessment of the dose-response relationship of Campylobacter jejuni - PubMed
September 13, 2021 /Don Schaffner
Raw Meat, Chicken, Sashimi
107.png

107. Slapping a Chicken to Cook It

February 15, 2021 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of slapping your chicken.

Dr. Don - risky ☣️
Professor Ben - risky ☣️

  • Don Schaffner 🦠 on Twitter: "The simulation shows lots of bits of blue flying away, so I'm going to assume that is 63°F chicken flying around your kitchen
  • Matt’s Newsletter
  • Full article: A review on underwater shockwave processing and its application in food technology
  • Physics Major Calculates How Hard You Have To Slap Chicken To Cook It And People React With Hilarious Memes | Bored Panda
February 15, 2021 /Don Schaffner
Chicken, Salmonella, High Pressure Processing, Shockwave Processing, Campylobacter

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