Risky or Not?

A short podcast about everyday risks from germs

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DALL·E image text: A square photo of a glass jar, half-filled with syrupy peaches. Several peach slices are covered in thick, fuzzy mold, appearing green and white. The jar has a weathered metal lid, and the syrup inside is cloudy. The scene is softly lit against a plain, neutral background.

765. Big Open Spoiled Jar of Canned Peaches at Room Temperature

April 30, 2025 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben revisit episode 759, and talk about the risks of eating from big open spoiled jar of canned peaches at room temperature.

Dr. Don - risky ☣️
Professor Ben - risky ☣️

  • 759. Big Open Jar of Canned Peaches at Room Temperature — Risky or Not?
  • Further Studies on Development of Clostridium Botulinum in Refrigerated Foods 1 - Tanner - 1940 - Journal of Food Science - Wiley Online Library
  • Further Studies on Development of Clostridium botulinum in Refrigerated Foods - abstract
  • Growth and Toxin Production by Clostridium botulinum in Sauteed Onions - ScienceDirect
  • Journal of Food Science - Wikipedia
April 30, 2025 /Don Schaffner
Botulism, Peaches, Spoilage, Fungus, pH

DALL·E - A large, open refrigerator filled with pumpkin spice flavored coffee creamers. Some of the coffee creamers are slightly oozing a small amount of orange liquid.

683. Pastor Pinkston's Putrid Pumpkin Products

October 21, 2024 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks posed by clumpy pumpkin spice creamer stored in an overfull church refrigerator.

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

  • 423. Pastor Pinkston's Plentiful Pork Products — Risky or Not?
  • If you pour cream in your coffee and it's lumpy like cottage cheese but it smells ok, is it bad or can you drink it? - Quora
  • boor milk spoiklage - Google Scholar
  • Food Spoilage Microorganisms - Google Books
  • Psychrotolerant spore-former growth characterization for the development of a dairy spoilage predictive model - ScienceDirect
  • Short communication: Bacterial ecology of high-temperature, short-time pasteurized milk processed in the United States - ScienceDirect
  • Gene detection and toxin production evaluation of hemolysin BL of Bacillus cereus isolated from milk and dairy products marketed in Brazil - PMC
  • A Study To Assess the Numbers and Prevalence of Bacillus cereus and Its Toxins in Pasteurized Fluid Milk - PubMed
  • Clouds in My Coffee - Wikipedia
  • Acids in brewed coffees: Chemical composition and sensory threshold - ScienceDirect
  • Death Wish Coffee's cold brew recalled from shelves (botulism risk) : r/Coffee
October 21, 2024 /Don Schaffner
Creamer, Bacillus cereus, Spoilage

DALL·E - A pack of frozen sausage with the package really bulging a lot from gas formation

465. Kurtis's Puffy Sausage

May 31, 2023 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of consuming frozen sausage that had gas formation in the freezer.

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

  • Tarantino Mild Italian Sausage, 20 Links, 5 lbs | Costco
  • Why is my sausage package puffed up? – Eating Expired
  • (13) Jimmy Dean - Posts | Facebook
  • Ground beef package bloated/blown in freezer but normal when purchased? : r/Cooking
  • Woman explains why you should never eat food products from packet that's not flat - Mirror Online
May 31, 2023 /Don Schaffner
Spoilage, Gas formation, Sausage, Frozen

464. Veronica's Puffy Tofu

May 29, 2023 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of consuming frozen tofu that had gas formation in the freezer.

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

  • Veronica (@squirrelchomp) / Twitter
  • Tofu balloon. Any have this issue? : r/aldi
  • If You See Bloated Food Packaging, This Is What It Means | Taste of Home
  • I HAVE SOME BAGS OF FROZEN VEGETABLES THAT HAVE EXPANDED SINCE I BOUGHT THEM. THEY HAVE BEEN FROZEN THE ENTIRE TIME, BUT NOW THEY ARE SO FULL OF AIR THAT I CAN'T SQUEEZE THEM. IS THIS A PROBLEM? - Have A Plant
May 29, 2023 /Don Schaffner
Spoilage, Gas formation, Tofu, Frozen

414. Slimy Meat With Holes

February 01, 2023 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of eating meat with holes that are slimy.

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

  • Alex on Twitter: "@f*ckedupfoods @bugcounter and @benjaminchapman this is uh... Bad right" / Twitter
  • f*cked up looking food on Twitter: "https://t.co/mI1yRQrNWu" / Twitter
  • Microbiological Spoilage and Contamination of Vacuum-Packaged Cooked Sausages | Journal of Food Protection
  • Sodium Nitrite and Sorbic Acid Effects on Clostridium botulinum Toxin Formation in Chicken Frankfurter‐Type Emulsions - Sofos - 1979 - Journal of Food Science - Wiley Online Library
  • CSIRO Meat Technology Update
February 01, 2023 /Don Schaffner
Meat, Bologna, Clostridium botulinum, Spoilage

345. Keith's Exploding Canned Oranges

August 24, 2022 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from a swollen can of canned oranges several years out of date.

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

  • not a bot on Twitter: "@bugcounter @benjaminchapman Can from the back of our pantry. Year from best by date is obliterated. Probably 5 yrs out of date. Very swollen can on both ends. Ready to explode. But the real question is: Risky or Not? https://t.co/o4PeJ73QjA" / Twitter
  • PHT 321: Causes of spoilage of canned/bottled products
  • (not a bot on Twitter: "@bugcounter @benjaminchapman Opened the tin (outside), some hissing as the pressure released and the oranges inside were covered with little grey bits of corrosion from the inside of the tin. Smelled ok; I did not taste them. https://t.co/26FUyik61P" / Twitter
August 24, 2022 /Don Schaffner
Canned food, Spoilage, Hydrogen swell, Swollen can

341. Leslie's Artichoke Dip

August 15, 2022 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from Leslie Horton’s horrendous holiday artichoke dip that tastes like vinegar but has no vinegar.

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

  • Woman Offers Her Signature Spinach Artichoke Dip To Anchors, Leaves Them Gagging On-Air
  • (Video of Leslie Horton’s horrendous holiday artichoke dip goes viral | Globalnews.ca
  • Amazon.com : Native Forest, Artichoke Hearts Marinated, 6 Ounce : Grocery & Gourmet Food
  • Easy Marinated Artichokes Recipe | Allrecipes
August 15, 2022 /Don Schaffner
Vinegar, Fermentation, Spoilage

296. Pastor Pinkston's Putrid (?) Pork

May 02, 2022 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of Pastor Pinkston's pork chops. forgotten in the refrigerator for two weeks.

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

  • ComBase
  • Growth and inactivation of Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes in broth and validation in ground pork meat during simulated home storage abusive temperature and home pan-frying - PMC
May 02, 2022 /Don Schaffner
Spoilage, Pork, Refrigerator

256. Sniffing Milk Instead Using Expiration Dates

January 28, 2022 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of sniffing milk instead using expiration dates.

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

  • Morrisons scraps use by dates on milk in favour of sniff test | News | The Grocer
  • Short communication: Bacterial ecology of high-temperature, short-time pasteurized milk processed in the United States - ScienceDirect
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a cause of infectious diarrhoea - PubMed
  • Identification and Pathogenic Potential of Clinical Bacillus and Paenibacillus Isolates - PubMed
January 28, 2022 /Don Schaffner
Milk, Shelf-life, Spoilage, Smell

247. Feeding Breadcrumbs Older Than Your Kid to Your Kid

January 07, 2022 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of accidentally feeding rancid breadcrumbs to your kids.

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

  • Piccata - Wikipedia
  • Rancidification - Wikipedia
  • Dietary advanced lipid oxidation endproducts are risk factors to human health - Kanner - 2007 - Molecular Nutrition & Food Research - Wiley Online Library
  • Bread crumbs - Wikipedia
  • An unusual case of anaphylaxis. Mold in pancake mix - PubMed
January 07, 2022 /Don Schaffner
Spoilage, Rancidity, Oxidation, Breadcrumbs
145.png

145. Swollen Kimchi

May 14, 2021 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of eating kimchi from a swollen container.

Dr. Don - risky ☣️

Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

  • Beth McCoy | SUNY Geneseo
  • Frederick Breidt : USDA ARS
  • Understanding and Making Kimchi – Food Smart Colorado
May 14, 2021 /Don Schaffner
Kimchi, Spoilage, Botulism

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