Transcripts

Caroline Smith DeWaal:
One of the most important things is simply to avoid raw shellfish, especially those that are caught in the Gulf Coast.

Caroline Smith DeWaal, author of the book, Is Our Food Safe?

There are also a number of fish that are likely to be high in chemical residues, like methylmercury or dioxin. These include shark, swordfish, king mackerel, tuna, white and golden snapper.

When it comes to expiration dates on food products, you don't always have to throw the food out once that expiration date has passed.

Most expiration dates are on food for quality reasons. They're guides that tell you that the food is not at the peak quality. If there aren't huge organoleptic changes-it doesn't smell bad-there's probably not a risk. The exception to that is in the area of deli meats or smoked fish.

If you have some cheese that maybe is a little moldy on one spot, do you have to throw the whole thing out?

If it's a hard cheese, you're safe if you cut off the piece and some of the surrounding area for the area which is moldy. If it's a soft cheese, we recommend you throw it all away. If you're in doubt about the safety of the product, it's better to throw it out than to eat it.

For transcripts, visit our website, somethingyoushouldknow.net. I'm Mike Carruthers and that's "Something You Should Know".