"spoilage" news and stories

Generally, to keep foods fresh longer, we wrap them up and place them in the refrigerator. Sometimes, we don't give much thought to how things should actually be stored or whether we're doing it properly. As a result, you are more likely to get food poisoning at home than when eating out at a restaurant where health codes are strictly enforced. Some of the biggest food safety violations have to do with the refrigerator, the catch-all of food storage. Here are a few tips to keep you, and your family, a little safer.

• The refrigerator should be kept at, or below, 40°F. Keep in mind that the temperature can rise when the door is opened frequently and if the fridge is overcrowded and air cannot circulate.
• Store raw meat that you won't be eating right away in the freezer, not the refrigerator. Defrost it in the fridge.
• Milk is good for about 10 days past its "sell-by" date, although if it is left out to warm up, it can go bad before that time. It is better to keep it in the main part of the refrigerator than on the door.
• Fruits and vegetables can be stored at the same temperature they are stored in the store, though cut produce should be refrigerated and eaten within a few days.
• Hard cheeses can be stored, wrapped, for several weeks. If mold develops, the affected area and about 1/2-inch around it should be removed; the rest is safe to eat. Do not eat soft cheeses or dairy products, including cream cheese and yogurt, that have molded.
• Fresh eggs will last at least 3 or 4 weeks in the fridge, but hard-cooked eggs will only last one week. You can always check your eggs for freshness if in doubt. Eggs blend better with other ingredients in recipes for baked goods and get more volume when beaten if they are held at room temperature for 20 or 30 minutes before using.

Tired of sandwiches that get mushy and soggy from the filling soaking in the bread? Most people have learned to avoid this by packing their fillings - such as tuna or sauces - on the side and assembling the sandwich immediately before eating. This technique doesn't work with preassembled, prepacked sandwiches, of the variety found in refrigerated cases at grocery and convenience stores. While I prefer to avoid this type of food, others have worked to turn them into non-soggy lunchtime options. Diana's Homegrown has patented a pull-out pouch system that keeps the filling separate from the bread.

This is a great idea until the reality sinks in that your convenience store sandwich may have been stored for quite some time before you purchased it. In fact, CNN said, "The technology extends the lifespan of an unrefrigerated sandwich by as much as a month." Sandwiches should not last this long. No bread that is worth eating should last this long completely undamaged, even if it is kept "fresh" by refrigeration. This presents an opportunity for another company to sell packaged sandwiched fillings in a wide variety of flavors - which is a great idea - and to let the consumers provide their own bread.

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