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From Washington State University Extension, I’m Susie Craig.

Did you know making jams, jellies, conserves, preserves, and marmalades are one of the easiest ways to get started in home food preservation? The National Center for Home Food Preservation at the University of Georgia has seventy-three tested recipes, online and free. They include reduced sugar recipes. Their recipes taste great while ensuring food safety.

Resources include testing pectin, remaking soft jellies, problem solving and practical solutions for improvement in jams and jellies. For instance, if your jams are too soft, the cause may be overcooking fruit to extract juice, making a batch too large or insufficient acid. Faculty experts at the National Center for Home Food Preservation suggest solutions based on food science and food safety.

Thanks for listening. This is Food Safety in a Minute.

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Resources

National Center for Home Food Preservation. Jams and Jellies/Jams and Jellies General Information/Causes and Possible Solutions for Problems with Jellied Fruit Products. https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/make-jam-jelly/jams-jellies-general-information/general-information-on-canning-jams-jellies-and-marmalades/. Accessed online 6/28/25.

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Welcome to Food Safety in a Minute. I’m Susie Craig.

Crushed tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, tomato juice, whole tomatoes, tomato ketchup, and tomato paste. Find delicious, and most importantly safe, tested recipes for all things tomato at the National Center for Home Food Preservation, University of Georgia. The Center is easily found online.

Did you know that peeling tomatoes prior to processing and canning is a key factor in food safety? According to the National Center for Home Food Preservation, “skins may interfere with heat penetration during the canning process, leading to under-processing and potentially unsafe products.” “Removing skins not only enhances safety by reducing the bacterial load but also improves the texture and flavor of the finished product. Tomato skin can taste bitter.

Thanks for listening to Food Safety in a Minute from Washington State University Extension.

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Resources

National Center for Home Food Preservation University of Georgia. Newsflash – Why Should You Peel Tomatoes Before Canning. (Revised 6/25/25). https://nchfp.uga.edu/newsflash. Assessed online 6/28/25.

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I’m Susie Craig. This is Food Safety in a Minute.

I just checked my pantry and there’s mold on homemade jelly. Is it safe to eat? According to the National Center for Home Food Preservation at the University of Georgia, you should discard jams and jellies with mold on them. Mold may produce a poisonous substance called a mycotoxin. The toxin can spread beyond the visible mold. Throw it out.

Jams and jellies made using a tested recipe and stored in a cool, dark, dry place should retain quality for a year. Lighter-colored jams and jellies may darken during storage. For instance, pear and apple jams and jellies. This is “not a safety concern, though it may reduce visual appeal.”

From Washington State University Extension, this is Food Safety in Minute, I’m Susie Craig.

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Resources

National Center for Home Food Preservation University of Georgia. FAQs/Jams and Jellies. https://nchfp.uga.edu/faqs/general-jams-and-jellies/category/faq-jams-and-jellies. Assessed online 6/29/25.

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It’s food preservation season. Welcome to Food Safety in a Minute.

Making jam and jelly, a family tradition, for others a way to reduce food waste, and a fantastic way to preserve extra fruit. Is it OK to double the recipe of jams and jellies as you preserve them?

The National Center for Home Food Preservation recommends against doubling recipes of jams and jellies. Testing shows doubling “can disrupt the balance of ingredients, potentially preventing the batch from setting properly.” It also “increases the cooking time, which may result in undesirable textures or burning of the jam or jelly.” It may even lead to uneven cooking before processing, increasing food safety risks. Always use a tested recipe from the National Center for Home Food Preservation or Washington State University.

From Washington State University Extension, this is Susie Craig.

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Resources

National Center for Home Food Preservation University of Georgia. Newsflash – Can I Double the Recipe? (Revised 6/25/25). https://nchfp.uga.edu/newsflash. Assessed online 6/28/25.

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This is Susie Craig. Welcome to Food Safety in a Minute.

Backyard chickens are often central to family life and your food budget. With the ongoing outbreak of bird flu, however, consumers have important responsibilities protecting birds, their families, and potential spread to commercial flocks. There have been confirmed cases of bird flu in backyard flocks, likely spread to your flock by wild birds.

Learn what it takes to raise poultry successfully and safely. Search online for Defend the Flock Resource Center from the United States Department of Agriculture. Resources are available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Arabic. They include checklists for your backyard coop, tips to keep your flock healthy, and checklists to protect your flock against wild birds, rodents, and insects.

From Washington State University Extension, I’m Susie Craig.

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Resources

United States Department of Agriculture – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Defend the Flock Resource Center. https://www.cdc.gov/healthy-pets/media/pdfs/2024/07/DFWED_Backyard-Flock-Checklist_508.pdf. Accessed online 6/28/25.

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This is Food Safety in a Minute with Expert Tips from Susie Craig.

Given the price of eggs, are you thinking about a backyard chicken coop? “Don’t wing it,” says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Carefully consider whether backyard chickens are a good fit.

Before getting birds:

• Check neighborhood regulations.

• Research breeds and supplies used to care for them.

• Secure an outdoor coop with heat source and fire alarm.

• Locate poultry veterinarians and university Extension experts.

• Pick a location for young birds easily cleaned and disinfected.

• Secure bedding, feed and supplements, feeder, and water.

• Purchase cleaning supplies including brushes, soap and disinfectants made especially for poultry.

• Identify and take steps to keep you and your family safe; Work gloves, hand washing, using a dedicated pair of shoes.

From Washington State University Extension, this is Food Safety in a Minute.

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Resources

Starting a Flock? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/healthy-pets/media/pdfs/2024/07/DFWED_Backyard-Flock-Checklist_508.pdf. Accessed online 6/27/25.

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From Washington State University Extension, this is Susie Craig.

Do you have backyard chickens? Bird flu is spreading from birds to cows, and though rare to people. So far, most human cases of bird flu have been mild, in people exposed to infected animals. The infection lasts from a few days to two weeks.

If you’re around poultry, cows, or raw, unpasteurized milk, get medical help immediately if you experience eye redness, fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches, or shortness of breath. Eye redness is often the first symptom. Symptoms may be mild to severe, and two to five days after exposure. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend seeking immediate medical attention with symptoms. Antiviral treatment works best when started within the first two days.

You’ve been listening to Food Safety in a Minute from Washington State University Extension.

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Resources

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Bird Flu. https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/. Accessed online 6/25/25.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Signs and Symptoms of Bird Flu in People. (12/20/24). https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/signs-symptoms/index.html. Accessed online. 6/26/25.

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From Washington State University Extension, welcome to Food Safety in a Minute.

Did you know since 2022, 175 million chickens, turkeys and other birds have been culled to stop the spread of bird flu also called avian influenza? The USDA has spent a billion dollars compensating farmers for culled flocks. For consumers this means shortages along with higher egg prices, poultry prices, and increased imports of eggs.

Bird flu is on-going, one of the worst animal health issues on record. Recently, the USDA announced spending up to $100 million for research leading to a vaccine or other treatments to contain and stop bird flu. The National Chicken Council, United Egg Producers Industry group and others are also working to find safe, timely solutions.

I’m Susie Craig. Thanks for listening.

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Resources

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Bird Flu. https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/. Accessed online 7/25/25.

Polansek, Tom. Exclusive: USDA Develops Potential Plan to Vaccinate Poultry for Bird Flu. Reuters (6/20/25). https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/usda-develops-potential-plan-vaccinate-poultry-bird-flu-2025-06-20/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=rasa_io&utm_campaign=newsletter. Accessed online 6/25/25.

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For Food Safety in a Minute, I’m Susie Craig.

It may surprise you, scientists don’t know that much about the naturally occurring chemical make-up of our food. Nutrition research has historically focused on protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals. Though researchers have identified 139,000 molecules in food, scientists do not know if they are absorbed, how they are metabolized in our bodies, to which protein they bind, and what cellular processes they affect.

Consider the complexity of the chemicals and food along with the complexity of how our bodies metabolize and use those chemicals. With research focused on chemical mapping of foods paired with artificial intelligence, it’s possible nutritional science will be revolutionized, new drugs from food chemicals will be developed. Food is Medicine.

From Washington State University Extension, this Food Safety in a Minute.

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Resources

Menichetti, Giulia, A Barnabas and J. Loscalzo. Chemical Complexity of Food and Implications for Therapeutics. New England Journal of Medicine. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra2413243

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This is Susie Craig for Food Safety in a Minute.

The chemicals in the food we eat are more than the carbohydrates, lipids, protein, vitamins, minerals, and additives listed on a food label. Much more. Researchers at Harvard, Northeastern, and Central European University recently reviewed data from the Nutrition Dark Matter library revealing more than 139,000 chemicals in 3,000 common foods.

This is complex, emerging science identifying how the composition of food we eat may influence our health and disease. Currently, about 2,000 chemicals found in food are used as drugs. For instance, the origins of aspirin are traced back to salicylic acid found in willow bark and some fruits and vegetables, including strawberries. Lovastatin is linked to chemicals found in red yeast rice.

From Washington State University Extension, this is Food Safety in a Minute.

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Resources

American Chemistry Council. Chemical SafetyFacts.org. The Sweet Chemistry of Five Summer Fruits (8/18/22). https://www.chemicalsafetyfacts.org/health-and-safety/the-sweet-chemistry-of-five-summer-fruits/. Accessed online 5/29/25.

Menichetti, Giulia, A Barnabas and J. Loscalzo. Chemical Complexity of Food and Implications for Therapeutics. New England Journal of Medicine. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra2413243