Risky or Not?

A short podcast about everyday risks from germs

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ChatGPT image description: A rustic kitchen scene centers on a bowl of cooked brown rice on a wooden counter. Above and around it, pantry moths flutter beneath hanging utensils, garlic, herbs, and chili peppers. The warm lighting contrasts the wholesome food with an unsettling infestation.

897. Cooked Brown Rice Infested With Pantry Moths

March 04, 2026 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from eating eating cooked brown rice infested with pantry moths.

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

  • Indianmeal moth - Wikipedia
  • Tyndallization - Wikipedia
  • The Best Way to Cook to Brown Rice Is the Pasta Method | The Kitchn
  • Influence of diets and developmental stages on microbiota associated with the Indian Meal Moth Plodia interpunctella
March 04, 2026 /Don Schaffner
Rice, Brown rice, Pantry moths, Hanger-downers

516. Horchata

September 27, 2023 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of drinking horchata made from uncooked rice.

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

  • National Horchata Day - September 24, 2023 - National Today
  • Horchata - Wikipedia
  • Horchata (Cinnamon Rice Milk) Recipe
  • Sieve Chant | Wisconsin Badgers.)
  • "How Do You Do, Fellow Kids?" | Know Your Meme
  • Poisoning sends 38 Mexican kindergarteners to hospital | CNN
  • Horchata | SpringerLink
  • Thermal and non-thermal preservation techniques of tiger nuts' beverage “horchata de chufa”. Implications for food safety, nutritional and quality properties - ScienceDirect
  • Horchata Recipe
  • National Outbreak Reporting System (NORS) | CDC
  • Gym Tacos - Raleigh, NC
September 27, 2023 /Don Schaffner
Rice, Time temperature control for safety

347. Soaking Uncooked Rice Overnight

August 29, 2022 by Don Schaffner

Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of soaking uncooked rice overnight.

Dr. Don - risky ☣️
Professor Ben - risky ☣️

  • The effects of heat activation on Bacillus spore germination, with nutrients or under high pressure, with or without various germination proteins - PubMed
  • Can You Soak Rice Overnight? Helpful Tips & Answers
  • Foodborne Disease Outbreaks Caused by Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens, and Staphylococcus aureus—United States, 1998–2008 | Clinical Infectious Diseases | Oxford Academic
  • ComBase
  • CB Premium | Bacillus cereus on cooked rice
August 29, 2022 /Don Schaffner
Rice, Bacillus cereus, Time temperature control for safety

287. Rice Used to Dry Out Phone Dropped in Water

April 11, 2022 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of eating Rice used to dry out a phone dropped in water.

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

  • bill quoted on Twitter: "@benjaminchapman @bugcounter Dropped a phone in a puddle of water and placed it in rice to dry. Risky or not to cook and eat the rice?" / Twitter
  • Food Safety Talk 92: So we can't use that rice? — Food Safety Talk
  • Flight of the Conchords- Business Time - YouTube
  • Semisonic - Closing Time (Official Music Video) - YouTube
April 11, 2022 /Don Schaffner
Rice, Phone
185.png

185. Tamago Kake Gohan

August 16, 2021 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of tamago kake gohan (cooking an egg with hot rice).

Dr. Don - risky ☣️
Professor Ben - risky ☣️

Note that Don says “not risky” at 5:58, but from the context it’s clear he means “risky”, which he later confirms. Thanks to listener Nimoy for pointing this out.

  • Tamago Kake Gohan Recipe - Love and Lemons
  • 31: Rice Left in a Warming Rice Cooker Over Night — Risky or Not?
  • Parameters for Determining Inoculated Pack/Challenge Study Protocols†,‡ | Journal of Food Protection
  • eggs - Risky or Not?
  • "Letterkenny" Crack An Ag (TV Episode 2019) - IMDb
August 16, 2021 /Don Schaffner
Egg, Rice, Salmonella
rice cooker.png

31: Rice Left in a Warming Rice Cooker Over Night

August 21, 2020 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of eating rice left in a warming rice cooker over night

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

  • Neuro Fuzzy® Rice Cooker & Warmer NS-ZCC10/18 | Zojirushi.com

  • Bacillus cereus - Wikipedia

August 21, 2020 /Don Schaffner
Rice, Rice cooker, Temperature

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