Induction-Ready Pressure Canners: Are They Safe to Use?

Several manufacturers are now selling pressure canners and other appliances that are compatible with induction heating elements.  Are these style of canners safe to use for home canning?  Yes!  Induction compatible canners function the same way as regular pressure canners in preserving food.  An induction-ready canner is different because of the type of material that the canner […]

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Little Free Libraries: Not Food-Safe Pantries

Even though a national trend has some families converting their Little Free Libraries into food pantries, this may not be food-safe idea.  Little Free Libraries have a strong tie to Wisconsin.  According to the Little Free Library website, in 2009, Todd Bol of Hudson, Wisconsin, built a model of a one room schoolhouse.  It was a […]

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Best Gardening Practices During COVID-19: Info-Graphics!

The Division of Extension has developed info-graphics that depict best practices for gardening in community spaces this summer.  A community garden can be a great place to meet new friends and exchange gardening tips.  This summer of COVID-19 there are some practices that will keep everyone safe and healthy. Feeling ill?  Stay at home.  Garden […]

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How Safe is Your Cutting Board?

Which is better, wooden or plastic cutting boards?  It turns out, there is no easy answer.  Consumers may choose either wood or a nonporous surface such as plastic, marble, or glass – any of these materials can work.  What’s important is how you handle your cutting board!  The USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline has some special tips. Avoid cross contamination.  This […]

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What’s Got You Sick? Viruses vs Bacteria.

It’s no fun to wake up with a sore throat or blocked sinuses.  Maybe you head to the doctor, and maybe you don’t.  Knowing whether the illness is caused by a bacterium or a virus can help you understand possible treatment options. A bacterium — more commonly seen written in its plural form, bacteria – is a microscopic, single-celled […]

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Importance of Washing Hands (and Tools) when Gardening

Fingers crossed, the weather will continue to warm and more and more people can get out into their gardens.  If you garden in a community space, it will seem different this year.  An earlier update shared information on community gardening this summer.  In the community where I garden, we’ve installed foot-operated hand washing stations with […]

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Food Safety Basics: A Video Collection

The Partnership for Food Safety Education lists four basic steps to help prevent foodborne illness: Clean, Cook, Chill and Separate.  These food safety steps are important because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that foodborne microorganisms are responsible for 48 million illnesses, 128,000 hospitalizations, and 3,000 deaths in the United States every year! Not only can you get sick […]

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Latest Research: Food Label Confusion Leads to Food Waste

Research to be published in the September 2020 issue of Food Control confirms that consumers are wasting food due to confusion over food product dating.  An online survey of 1042 U.S. adults evaluated consumers’ use and knowledge of food label dates, and consumers’ habits related to disposing of food that would likely still be safe for consumption. The age […]

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Food Safety in the Time of COVID-19: Survival of the Coronavirus on Surfaces

Studies have shown that the virus that causes COVID-19 can survive on surfaces for up to several days.  Is this cause for concern?  A recent study from the National Institute of Health noted that under laboratory conditions, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is stable for several hours to days in aerosols and on surfaces.  Scientists found that SARS-CoV-2 was […]

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Food Safety in the Time of COVID-19: Why is the Coronavirus Different?

The coronavirus that we are all dealing with this year has some startling differences and also some similarities from other viruses that we have heard about before.  About 15-30% of common colds every year are caused by a type of coronavirus.  COVID-19 is a disease caused by a particularly virulent and contagious coronavirus. What is a […]

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