Tag Archives: potato
Beware of the Potato Salad: Preventing Foodborne Illness in Summer
SATURDAY July 21, 2012 — Ever eye a bowl of potato salad or plate of chicken that’s been sitting in the sun for hours and wonder if it’s still OK to eat?
Warm weather means that bacteria in food can multiply faster and potentially pose a health threat, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns.
The FDA offers the following safety advice to help prevent foodborne illnesses during barbecue and picnic season:
- Wash your hands well and often with soap and water for 20 seconds, especially after using the bathroom and before cooking or eating. If there are no water taps available, use a water jug, some soap and paper towels or moist disposable towelettes.
- Keep raw food separate from cooked food. Do not place cooked food on a plate that previously held raw meat, poultry, seafood or anything else and hasn’t been cleaned in hot, soapy water.
- Marinate food in the refrigerator, not on the counter. Don’t reuse marinade that contained raw meat.
- Cook food thoroughly in order to kill any harmful bacteria that may be present. Use a food thermometer to make sure food has reached the recommended minimum temperature, which is 160 degrees F for hamburger and 165 degrees F for chicken. If you use the microwave, stove or oven to partially cook food to reduce grilling time, do so immediately before you place the food on the barbeque.
- Try to refrigerate or freeze leftovers immediately. Never leave food out for more than an hour when the temperature is above 90 degrees F.
- Keep hot foods at or above 140 degrees F and keep cold foods at or below 40 degrees F.
More information
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service has more about summer and foodborne illness.
Posted: July 2012
You say potato, I say stinky gray blobs (The Newsroom)
Along with ruined homes and massive flooding, turns out Hurricane Irene left a few “presents” in her wake: Beaches covered in mysterious, stinky, gray blobs.
The blobs were found on several Virginia beaches (and no, they weren’t tourists), confounding the locals. Scientists later identified them as “potato sponges,” which normally live in shallow waters, attached to the sea floor.
The strong sea currents from Irene kicked up a bunch of these sponges, which then washed up on shore and eventually died. Peace out, potato sponges.
Ad for Walkers potato chips wins award at Cannes (Providence Journal)
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| Lybia Protests News, Entertainment – Odd News Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.Weekend Deals: Xbox 360, Kinect, and The Potato Sack
Steam continues to offer The Potato Sack for 75% off. It’s a collection of 13 indie games, including the likes of Super Meat Boy, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, and Killing Floor, all for $ 38.72. Alternatively, you can buy each of the games for 50% off; either way, there are some quality games available on the cheap.
Meanwhile, Amazon is offering a $ 50 Amazon credit with the purchase of a 4GB Xbox 360 slim console and a $ 25 credit with the purchase of Kinect.
Read on for the full list of this week’s deals:
Greece nabs potato thieves from Bulgaria (AP)
AP – Police in northern Greece have arrested nine Bulgarians accused of crossing the border to steel potatoes from fields at night.
Yahoo! News: Odd News – AP
