by Leigh Ann Otte

Can you believe it? Store-bought cookie dough contains pasteurized eggs, so it should be free of salmonella, says registered dietitian D. Milton Stokes in one of this week’s short featured articles. Add that to your “thankful for” list this Thanksgiving.

Speaking of Thanksgiving and food safety … how ’bout them leftovers? How long do you leave them out? All afternoon? All day? Stokes says two hours should be tops. Otherwise, you might have some rather unmerry family members over the weekend. For more food-safety tips, check out our other featured article, “How to Avoid Food Poisoning: 6 Tips.” And then, have a happy Thanksgiving!

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Leigh Ann Otte is the managing editor of MyFamilyDoctorMag.com. This information is not meant to be individual advice. Please consult your doctor for that. See our disclaimer here.

by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

National salmonella outbreaks are scary, aren’t they?  When they occur (and it seems pretty often) we hear an almost daily barrage of new cases—some serious, a few even deadly.  What is the average Jane or Joe to do in a situation like this, other than worry?

One thing, of course, is to avoid the affected foods.   You’ll survive for the short term.  If you just can’t live without your favorite peanut combo, you can check your brand’s website or call their headquarters for information.  The FDA has recommended that companies whose peanuts are not supplied by the Peanut Corporation of American (the source of the outbreak) publicize this fact.

But, really, how dangerous are these outbreaks to the general public?
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by Jill Weisenberger, M.S., R.D., C.D.E.

With Labor Day and its backyard cookouts around the corner, it’s time to set the record straight. We need to stop picking on mayonnaise. In fact, instead of villainizing mayonnaise, we should be celebrating it. Commercial mayonnaise is made with pasteurized eggs and vinegar. The vinegar makes the spread acidic and therefore an unlikely breeding ground for bacteria. Some research studies have even found that the growth of bacteria in meats has been slowed or stopped in the presence of commercial mayonnaise.

So what’s the likely source of the food borne illness at your picnic? (more…)