Consumer Q's for July 12, 2007
Contact: Teresa Jenkins
(404) 656-3645
1-800-282-5852
CONSUMER Q’s
Prepared by the
Office of Public Affairs
Tommy Irvin, Commissioner
Consumer Alert: Hammock Stands Recalled by the Algoma Net Co. Due to Fall Hazard
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. Name of Product: Hammock Stands; Units: About 3,000; Importer: The Algoma Net Co., of
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My mother insists on cutting the moldy parts off of bread and other foods and feeding them to my preschooler. Is this safe to do?
No, it isn't safe to cut off the moldy parts of bread and feed the rest to young children. Mold on foods is similar to spoiled or curdled milk, it's often a sign that a food is past its expiration date and should be thrown away. Simply cutting away the mold is not enough for most foods. According to the USDA, molds are not only found on the surface of foods. So while you cut away the visible mold, "when a food shows heavy mold growth, 'root' threads have invaded it deeply." Although it is good to not waste food, it is far better to plan ahead and buy less if you find your food is often getting moldy.
Moldy Cheese
Surprisingly, mold is actually used to make some foods. Many popular cheeses, including Brie, Roquefort, blue, Gorgonzola, Camembert, and Stilton, are made using mold and are safe to eat. Food safety experts consider cheese safe to eat as long as it was made with pasteurized milk, which has nothing to do with whether or not it was made using mold. If the cheese actually gets moldy, which is from molds that are not part of the manufacturing process, then that is different though. In the case of hard cheeses, you can often trim off the mold, and at least 1 inch around the mold spot, and still eat the cheese. Soft cheeses should be discarded, like most other foods.
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How should ground poultry be cooked, stored, and handled?
Ground poultry may be substituted for ground beef or combined with ground beef in many recipes. Ground poultry patties, loaves or any combination should always be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Leftovers should be refrigerated immediately and reheated to 165 degrees F. Always wash hands, utensils, counters, cutting boards and sinks with soap and hot water to prevent cross-contamination of cooked food with raw products.
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I have a sprayer that I use to treat for insects in the garden and weeds in my lawn. My son says that I should not use the same sprayer for both jobs and has offered to buy me another sprayer. Since I always thoroughly clean the container between uses, do I really need another sprayer?
If you’ve got just one sprayer for every lawn and garden chore, you could be inviting trouble. No matter how the sprayer is cleaned after each use, you can still have a chemical residue. It is almost impossible to remove 100 percent of an herbicide residue. Buy another sprayer so you can use one for insecticides and the other herbicides.
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Can I plant seeds collected from produce purchased at the grocery store?
Yes you can. However, many of the vegetable seeds are immature, so the seeds won’t germinate. Also, many varieties are hybrids and will not come true from seeds
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If you have questions or problems with products or services regulated by the Georgia Department of Agriculture, you may write the Office of Public Affairs, Room 224, 19 Martin Luther King Drive, Atlanta 30334 or 404/656-3645 (metro Atlanta) or 1-800-282-5852 (state wide).
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