View Poll Results: You open a pot of jam in the cupboard which is about half full. You see a layer of mould on the top

Voters
35. You may not vote on this poll
  • Throw the whole jar away

    18 51.43%
  • Skim off the mould and eat

    13 37.14%
  • Ignore the mould, eat it anyway

    0 0%
  • What's mould?

    1 2.86%
  • Something else

    3 8.57%
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Poll on attitudes to waste (sort of)

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  1. #21

    Join Date
    Jun 2010
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    Kent, England
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    Actually if you Google "spoiled food taste" the results would scare you
    Howard, there are a LOT of links about this


  2. #22

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Gold Coast Marina
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    17,934
    Quote Originally Posted by Satay Sue:
    Actually if you Google "spoiled food taste" the results would scare you
    Howard, there are a LOT of links about this
    I googled spoiled food taste and found this link - which I enjoyed - but couldn't find much to support your point (unless it was lower down, I only looked at the first page)

    Stone Age Doc - Archived Articles - Spoiled food - how dangerous is it?

    PS - I regularly eat rice the day after it has cooked - what is the problem I should be looking out for? (do keep in the fridge or freezer though)

  3. #23

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
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    13,099

    Rice : I use the smell test. If it smells funky, it goes in the garbage. Otherwise, it gets reheated and eaten.

    Generally : Other than alarmist/paranoid articles, I've not been able to find any decent articles that give examples of good looking&smelling foods that are really bad for you.

    SS : I would appreciate anything specific you could point me to.


  4. #24

    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Posts
    3,377

    90% of the time I would just eat it without even realising there was mould there. I ate a mouldy apple the other day and I only twigged about an hour later when realising apple flesh shouldn't be furry. Niiiiice. Therefore, I voted 'what is mould?'

    MovingIn07 and dear giant like this.

  5. #25

    Join Date
    May 2010
    Posts
    4,713
    Quote Originally Posted by HowardCoombs:
    Being a cheapskate, I regularly buy near-expired foods and regularly consume them as well as expired foods. No ill effects so far :-)
    i eat near-expired foods too. especially the mark-down prices of beef and chicken at park n shop.

    near-expired food is very different than foods with moulds growing on them.

  6. #26

    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Kowloon
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    1,184
    Quote Originally Posted by Satay Sue:
    For those unaware, cooked rice is one of the worst things for getting food poisoning. Have to be very careful if you want to store.
    @ HC depends on the food!
    I know this is true but I've had reheated rice hundreds of time and haven't got ill from it (despite reading that reheating doesn't kill the toxins from this particular bacteria)

    from the Gaurdian

    A disproportionately high number of food poisoning cases are indeed caused by reheated rice. Or perhaps I should say inadequately heated. It's not actually the reheating that's the problem - it's the way the rice has been stored before reheating. Uncooked rice can contain spores of Bacillus cereus, a bacteria that can cause food poisoning. Unless the rice is cooked properly, the spores can survive, and if you then leave it standing at room temperature for any length of time, the spores can germinate into bacteria. These will then multiply and may produce toxins that cause all manner of nasty side-effects. Reheating the rice won't get rid of these toxins, so the longer cooked rice is left at room temperature, the more likely it is that bacteria, or the toxins they produce, could stop the rice being safe to eat.
    Last edited by limepickle; 04-10-2011 at 10:52 AM.
    dear giant likes this.

  7. #27

    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Pampanga, Philippines
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    29,772
    Quote Originally Posted by Satay Sue:
    Re Laksa Girl, Yes, I've had to tell my helper that. She won't throw anything away. She would keep leftover rice for days, one time I found a covered bowl in a cupboard which had been there overnight! she would have eaten it too. For those unaware, cooked rice is one of the worst things for getting food poisoning. Have to be very careful if you want to store.
    @ HC depends on the food!
    Yes I was brought up on the old rice = danger thing, but then I moved to the Philippines and they all keep the rice until the next day then either eat it cold or fry it. They just sniff it first to check. Never any side effects. Seems this rule only applies in the cold UK and not in the tropical Philippines!

  8. #28

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
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    Quote Originally Posted by hullexile:
    Yes I was brought up on the old rice = danger thing, but then I moved to the Philippines and they all keep the rice until the next day then either eat it cold or fry it. They just sniff it first to check. Never any side effects. Seems this rule only applies in the cold UK and not in the tropical Philippines!
    The exact same thing happens in China. I've had the opportunity to live in 6 different rural homes in China (different provinces) and the practice is always the same. Cook rice and then eat it till its gone which may be same day or it may be 2 days from now. Smell test every time.

    Aside : I love Pinoy Garlic Rice for bFast :-)
    Last edited by HowardCoombs; 04-10-2011 at 11:19 AM.

  9. #29

    Mould (which is produced by bacteria) isn't necessarily a bad thing. We use it to make cheese (outside Camembert/Brie) and dessert wine (Botrytis). It's in clever marketing 'Yakult'. Someone's already mentioned penicillin.

    On a pinhead are trillions of bacteria. As limepickle posted above, it's mostly the spores and toxins which are often resistant to extreme temperatures that cause gastroenteritis / food poisoning. Remember the advice about not refreezing food? It's not about retaining texture so much as it is about reducing the potential for bacterial growth. Defrost in the fridge from the freezer is best.

    High protein foods in particular are risky. For rice - it's bacillus cereus. (If you're ever unlucky enough to contract it, you will remember the experience! Extremely uncomfortable - fever, vomiting etc.)

    Bacillus cereus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    Keep foods outside of the 'danger zone' which is between 5C-60C. Bacteria grows rapidly after 4 hours at these temperatures.

    FSIC: Temperature danger zone

    All people who work with food in Australia must complete a food handlers hygiene certificate. Like you've noted, generations of families around the world don't necessarily suffer ill effects from keeping food at room temperature for hours. Go figure!


  10. #30

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
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    13,099

    Yes, everyone knows bad food and bad bacteria is risky but no one has answered my question still.

    Can anyone give me a case and example of foods that would pass the smell and sight tests (They smell fine and look fine) and can still cause you illness?

    The rice example you have quoted is one I know will not pass such tests. The rice will look a bit slimy and will also smell different.