Consumers' Food Safety Questions Focus of New UW-Extension Website

Consumers’ Food Safety Questions Focus of New UW-Extension Website

Ever have questions about the safety of food you preserve at home or items you purchase at the store? Now you can find answers—and the latest food preservation and safety tips—from a new UW-Extension online resource.

“Safe and Healthy: Preserving Food at Home” (http://fyi.uwex.edu/safepreserving/) is a new website that covers topics ranging from safe canning of tomatoes and other garden produce to how to respond to a food recall. The information, prepared by UW-Extension food scientist Barbara Ingham, features new posts and tips almost daily.

“My goal is that consumers can receive frequent updates on food safety topics to help keep their families safe,” says Ingham.

Recent topics included ideas for safely preserving summer squash, how to make low-salt pickles, tips for preserving tomatoes, and learning how kitchen spices might harbor harmful pathogens such as Salmonella.

Recently, Chobani issued a nationwide recall of yogurt due to mold contamination. Ingham used the website to explain to consumers how best to respond to a food recall.

Content posted to the website can be automatically delivered to an email address so that consumers can keep up-to-date with the latest in food safety news and research.

Anyone interested in home preservation and food safety updates can subscribe online to “Safe and Healthy: Preserving Food at Home” for frequent tips and research updates.