Food Safety Myths You Need To Stop Believing, According To An Expert

We hear a lot about food safety, but many of us still don't fully understand it. Plus, we've learned a lot through scientific studies over the past several years that may have negated what we were taught as children or young adults. Because of this, there are a lot of pervasive food safety myths going around. And, unfortunately, if you believe some of these myths, you're increasing the chances that you or a loved one will get a foodborne illness.

To help us learn more about some of these pervasive myths that too many of us believe, we reached out to Bryan Quoc Le, Ph.D., a food science consultant and the author of "150 Food Science Questions Answered." He debunked several food safety myths, shared the scientific reasoning behind why these myths simply aren't true, and shed some light on what we should be doing to keep everyone safe and healthy when handling, preparing, and storing food.

You can tell if chicken is fully cooked when the juices run clear. The doneness of a steak or burger can be accurately judged based on the color of the meat. We've all heard these statements before. Many of us may even follow them as hard and fast rules when preparing cooking in the kitchen or over the grill. Unfortunately, the ability to determine whether meat or poultry is fully cooked based on how it looks is a myth that you'll want to stop believing.

Dr. Bryan Quoc Le says, "It's best to use a thermometer, as different meats and cuts may have different appearances depending on the temperature." If you rely solely on appearances, you could end up serving undercooked meat, which will put you and your guests at an increased risk of getting foodborne illness. Instead, look for an instant-read thermometer (like the Alpha Grillers Instant Read Meat Thermometer) or a model that stays in the meat as it cooks (like the ThermoPro Wireless Meat Thermometer) and alerts you when it has reached the desired internal temperature.

As a reminder, the recommended internal temperature will vary based on the type of meat, poultry, or fish you are cooking. For example, all poultry should be cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, while fish and shellfish should reach a minimum temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Fresh beef, veal, pork, lamb, and other red meats should reach a minimum of 145 degrees Fahrenheit.

Be honest. Have you ever opened up the fridge to find a container of leftovers and given them the ol' smell test to determine whether they're still good? If everything smells fine — and you don't see any weird growths or color changes — you're good to go, right? According to Dr. Bryan Quoc Le, this is not a reliable way to assess whether leftovers are indeed safe to consume. He explains, "Some toxins and bacteria, notably Clostridium botulinum, which is responsible for botulism, do not produce a change in odor or appearance in the food because very little toxin is needed to cause severe illness and death."

Instead of relying on looks or smells, Le advises following guidance on food safety from the USDA. These guidelines share that leftover meats last for up to four days in the refrigerator. Eggs and lunch meat have a slightly longer lifespan, lasting up to five days. It is important to note that these storage times assume that your refrigerator is set (and maintains) a temperature no higher than 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Who would waste the time to wash an orange, cantaloupe, or watermelon? We all know that we don't eat the rind or skin of these fruits, so why bother washing them? Sadly, this is another myth that Dr. Bryan Quoc Le debunks. "When cutting fruit and vegetables, the knife can become contaminated from the skin as you're slicing through into the center."

If you take a second to think about this one, it should make sense. You'll be cutting through the dirty — and possibly bacteria-laded rind — with the same knife that is then going to slice through the flesh that you want to eat. Bacteria can easily transfer from the knife to the fruit, potentially making you sick. Even if you aren't using a knife and are simply peeling the rind off with your hands (as you would do for an orange or tangerine), the same reasoning applies. As you peel the skin, the bacteria will transfer to your hands. Then, as soon as you touch the orange or tangerine slices and pop them in your mouth, you'll be enjoying a side of bacteria from the cross-contamination that just occurred. The solution is simple. Always rinse oranges, melons, and other fruits, even if you aren't going to be eating the skin.

You might not have previously understood the importance of rinsing melons and oranges, but you've always followed the advice to rinse chicken and turkey to remove bacteria before cooking them. Sadly, you've been following another commonly believed food safety myth. While many of us were taught that washing the bacteria off of poultry will decrease the risks of getting sick from eating it, the opposite is actually true. "Rinsing chicken and turkey only serves to spread Salmonella in the sink, where it can remain for some time and contaminate other food, utensils, and cookware," explains Dr. Bryan Quoc Le.

Stop believing this myth about cooking chicken. Instead of spreading the bacteria all around your kitchen, the best solution is to make sure that you are cooking chicken to the recommended internal temperature of at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit. "Cooking should be sufficient to kill off the microorganisms," explains Le.

We all know the "five-second rule." The origins of the five-second rule trace back centuries to the time of Genghis Khan during the 1200s. It tells us that food that has only been on the floor for a few seconds is safe to eat. If you pick it up quickly enough, there won't have been sufficient time for any bacteria or germs on the floor to transfer to the item. "The five-second rule has been proven false in the research literature," says Dr. Bryan Quoc Le, debunking yet another pervasive food safety myth.

He explains, "Largely what determines the level of contamination on a food is how much moisture the food and floor has. Transfer of microorganisms is almost immediate." To play it safe and minimize your risk of getting sick, he strongly recommends against consuming any moist or wet foods that have come into contact with the floor.

As a kid, it may have been tradition to have a few tastes of raw cookie dough when baking cookies with your family. Over the years, we have learned more and more about the dangers of consuming raw cookie dough. But, surely, one small bite can't hurt, right? Sadly, Dr. Bryan Quoc Le explains why this reasoning is flawed. "Raw cookie dough has not been treated to kill off a specific strain of Salmonella that survives the processing of wheat flour. Raw cookie dough can still be contaminated with Salmonella and Escherichia coli." Neither Salmonella nor E. coli are something you want to mess around with. Both have the potential to cause serious gastrointestinal issues or worse.

These risks aren't worth the brief reward of tasting raw cookie dough. "Avoid eating raw cookie dough and only eat cookie dough that has been heat treated and is labeled safe for consumption," says Le. If you want to enjoy it without baking it first, there are ways to make raw cookie dough safe to eat. You'll have to heat-treat the flour first to kill any bacteria and use milk or something other than eggs to add moisture to the dough.

One myth that many accept as a scientific fact is that any bacteria on a food item will be killed when that item is frozen. However, as Dr. Bryan Quoc Le explains, "Freezing only stops the growth of microorganisms; it doesn't kill them. Many microorganisms are highly resistant to freezing temperatures." This means that even frozen foods — or those that are defrosted after being frozen — may still be contaminated with bacteria that could make you or others sick.

With this new information, you might need to make some changes to how you handle and deal with frozen food. For example, if you previously handled frozen meat without taking the same precautions you would have with thawed chicken or beef, that should change immediately. You still need to be careful to avoid cross-contamination by letting the frozen raw meat come into contact with surfaces in the kitchen. Similarly, you should always wash your hands after handling raw meat to avoid spreading the bacteria to utensils, plates or serving platters, or anything else in the space. If you've left food out for too long, you also won't be able to "save it" by freezing it to kill the bacteria. Food that has spoiled or sat out too long shouldn't be consumed, whether it is frozen first or not.

Many people still leave chicken, ground beef, pork chops, and other meat items on the counter to defrost. However, doing so is not safe. The center of the meat will remain frozen much longer than the outer layers, which will thaw and begin warming up. According to Dr. Bryan Quoc Le, you'll be making the mistake of letting portions of the food enter something known as the "Danger Zone." This range of temperatures, between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, is where microorganisms, like bacteria, are capable of multiplying very rapidly. "This can be dangerous even for foods that will be cooked, such as meat, because the microbes can produce toxins that are not destroyed in cooking," explains Le.

Instead, you should choose a safer thawing method. If you plan ahead, you can move the frozen item to the refrigerator the night before you plan to cook it. "The correct method to quickly thaw meat is to place it in a bowl of cold water and replace the water every 30 minutes until thawed; it should be in a sealed package if using this method," shares Le.

It is important to note that meat isn't the only frozen food that shouldn't be thawed on the counter. You also don't want to make a mistake with frozen soup, pasta, or other items by leaving them on the counter to thaw. "Without knowing the condition and load of pathogens on the frozen food before it was frozen, it is a dangerous practice to thaw food on the counter as the multiplication rate of the pathogens on the surfaces can be very high," says Le. Instead, he recommends leaving sufficient time to let these items thaw in the refrigerator.

There is a pretty prevalent myth that people only get food poisoning from animal products, such as meat, eggs, or milk. So, many vegans or vegetarians may assume that they don't need to worry about food poisoning. However, this is simply not the case, and believing it could give you a false sense of security if you choose not to eat animal products. "There is significant cross-contamination between animal agricultural practices and fruit and vegetable agriculture. Most fruits and vegetables are contaminated from the waste of wild animals or run-off from cattle and other animals," shares Dr. Bryan Quoc Le, explaining why vegans and vegetarians also need to take food safety seriously.

Knowing this, you can see why it is essential to properly wash fruits and vegetables before cooking or consuming them. In fact, Le says, "Consider that fruit, vegetable, and grain products have similar rates of contamination compared to animal products to keep safe." Washing them takes only a few minutes of your time, which is well worth the benefit of avoiding getting food poisoning — or inadvertently making a friend or loved one sick by feeding them contaminated food.

It's easy to feel invincible to food poisoning. If you're a healthy person who takes care of their body, gets regular exercise, and generally avoids getting a cold, the flu, or other typical illness, you might assume that your body will be able to similarly "fight off" food poisoning. However, according to Dr. Bryan Quoc Le, this line of thinking isn't accurate. While he notes that individuals who are imuno-compromised are more likely to get sick than those who are generally healthy, he explains, "The immune system is complex and there are a number of different species of pathogens with different mechanisms."

Le explains that one's immune system is only part of the calculation. "It's both a function of the immune system and the load of pathogens in the food. At some point, some foods can be so contaminated that no immune system is able to fight it off effectively." Regardless of how healthy you are, it is still important to take precautions. Always wash your hands before eating, take care to avoid cross-contamination when preparing foods in the kitchen, and use a meat thermometer to make sure that you aren't serving or eating poultry, beef, or pork that hasn't been cooked to the recommended internal temperature.

Perhaps you've heard that you should start drinking raw milk for its health benefits. Some say that those who are lactose intolerant can tolerate it better than pasteurized milk. Others claim that it has more vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and fatty acids. However, Dr. Bryan Quoc Le debunks this myth too, explaining that drinking raw milk is not safe. "The limited studies that suggest that raw milk can help improve the immune system still cite that the risk of food poisoning from drinking raw milk far outweighs the potential health benefits," he says.

Health risks aside, the "benefits" of raw milk over pasteurized milk don't really add up. Le explains, "Other research has shown that there are few, if any, long-term benefits to drinking raw milk over pasteurized milk as the pasteurization process has a small effect on the nutritional quality of milk." Pasteurized milk is still an excellent source of vitamins A, B, D, E, and K. Similarly, it has high levels of calcium and phosphorus to support bone and muscle health. The claims about raw milk being easier on those who are lactose intolerant also don't seem to hold up based on scientific studies. Keep yourself safe and healthy by sticking with pasteurized milk.

Many cheeses are aged before they show up on the shelves at the grocery store. The aging process — which may take weeks to years, depending on the specific cheese — alters the flavor and texture of the cheese. It can intensify the flavor while hardening the texture of the cheese. Aged cheese also has a lower lactose content than fresh cheese since lactose breaks down over time. For quite some time, aged cheeses were considered completely safe to eat, with many assuming that any pathogens were killed during the process.

However, according to Dr. Bryan Quoc Le, this isn't always the case. "Over the years, food scientists in the field of cheese science and technology have begun to see that some pathogens can still survive the aging process used to make hard cheeses. While these instances are rare, it's becoming clear that some of these microorganisms can adapt to the high salt and high acid conditions found in aged cheese." He explains that eating aged cheese is generally safe because most have such a low number of pathogens — or no pathogens at all. However, it would be wrong to assume that you can never get sick from eating aged cheese. "There is still a risk of using unpasteurized milk in the cheese-making process that some of these pathogens can still survive," shares Le.

We've all had it happen to us. A spot of mold shows up on one of the slices of bread from the loaf, on a corner of one of the strawberries in the container, or on the edge of the block of cheese in the fridge. Some of us have been told that we can simply cut off the moldy section of the affected item and safely eat any portion that wasn't touched by the mold. Sadly, this is another food safety myth that you should stop believing.

"If there is a visible patch of mold on food, then there is almost certainly mold on the rest of the food that is not visible to the naked eye," cautions Dr. Bryan Quoc Le. He recommends against following through with the temptation to eat the "unaffected" portion of the item, explaining that you could end up getting sick. "Different molds grow on different foods, and while some of these molds may be harmless, others can make you very sick due to the toxins they produce." Instead, Le recommends playing it safe and discarding the item instead of trying to eat it.