Don Schaffner's Avatar

Don Schaffner

@bugcounter

Distinguished Professor, Extension Specialist and podcaster. Views my own. The best way to get your topic covered on our Risky or Not podcast is to use this link: bit.ly/RiskyorNot

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03.07.2023
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Latest posts by Don Schaffner @bugcounter

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898. Flipping Veggie Wings With Unwashed Hands β€” Risky or Not? Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from flipping veggie wings with unwashed hands. Dr. Don - not risky πŸ‘πŸΌ Professor Ben - not risky πŸ‘πŸΌ

Here's some show art for those of you who are not fans of LLM's. Not too much to talk about here, so it's a short(er) episode.

06.03.2026 21:03 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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897. Cooked Brown Rice Infested With Pantry Moths β€” Risky or Not? Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from eating eating cooked brown rice infested with pantry moths. Dr. Don - not risky πŸ‘πŸΌ Professor Ben - not risky πŸ‘πŸΌ

I told ChatGPT to include hanger downers in the picture. It understood this to mean utensils hanging down. Even when I corrected what I meant, the hanging utensils remained. Eventually I got some pantry moths in the picture.

04.03.2026 17:53 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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896. Not Washing a Cats Water Bowl for a Week β€” Risky or Not? Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from not washing a pets water bowl for a week. Dr. Don - not risky πŸ‘πŸΌ Professor Ben - not risky πŸ‘πŸΌ

The cat turned out great, and the water looks very disgusting. I don't think it would actually look this bad after a week.

02.03.2026 23:44 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Huge if true!

02.03.2026 19:21 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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895. Caramel Apple That's Been Shipped Priority Mail β€” Risky or Not? Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from eating a candied or caramel apple that's been shipped priority mail. Dr. Don - risky ☣️ Professor Ben - risky ☣️

This was a risky for both of us one. I don't think it's *that* risky, but I would certainly not do this if I sold these foods.

27.02.2026 23:37 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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894. Pizza Sold by a Person That Broke Into the Restaurant β€” Risky or Not? Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from Eating pizza sold by a person that broke into a pizza restaurant. Dr. Don - not risky πŸ‘πŸΌ Professor Ben - not risky πŸ‘πŸΌ

I really like the way the old timey criminal turned out. I don't think the guy in the Little Caesars was actually dressed like this.

25.02.2026 20:04 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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893. Eating an Opened Two-Year-Old 5-Pound Gummy Bear β€” Risky or Not? Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from eating an opened two-year-old 5-pound gummy bear, Dr. Don - not risky πŸ‘πŸΌ Professor Ben - not risky πŸ‘πŸΌ

This one is taken directly from Ben's text messages.

23.02.2026 17:38 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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23.02.2026 03:35 πŸ‘ 11 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

The Merlin Podcast Universe is vast and contains multitudes.

22.02.2026 12:05 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

For me it was fencing epee. But that really only helps with one word.

22.02.2026 12:03 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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892. Food From a Distribution Center With a Class II Recall β€” Risky or Not? Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from food from a distribution center with a class II recall Dr. Don - not risky πŸ‘πŸΌ Professor Ben - not risky πŸ‘πŸΌ

I was really impressed with the ChatGPT image, so much so that I was worried that we might get sued. Ben assured me that we can't be sued.

20.02.2026 22:46 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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891. Using Fresh Garlic in Sous Vide Cooking β€” Risky or Not? Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of using fresh garlic in sous vide cooking. Dr. Don - not risky πŸ‘πŸΌ Professor Ben - not risky πŸ‘πŸΌ

I really liked doing this one. It's fun to pick something that is generally thought to be risky, and work through the science to conclude that it's not.

18.02.2026 21:52 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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890. Hairy Bikers Poached Eggs in Dirty Water β€” Risky or Not? Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of using the Hairy Bikers egg poaching method. Dr. Don - not risky πŸ‘πŸΌ Professor Ben - not risky πŸ‘πŸΌ

Come for the food safety (or hairy biker) talk, stay for the Bloom County reference.

16.02.2026 23:17 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Jens van 'T Wout might be the most Dutch name I’ve ever heard.

15.02.2026 03:15 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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889. Re-Using Chocolate From a Chocolate Fondue Fountain β€” Risky or Not? Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from re-using chocolate from a chocolate fondue fountain. Dr. Don - not risky πŸ‘πŸΌ Professor Ben - not risky πŸ‘πŸΌ

File this one under "a bit gross" but #NotRisky.

14.02.2026 00:38 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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888. Using Smell to Determine When a Food Is Safely Cooked β€” Risky or Not? Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of using smell to determine when a food is safely cooked. Dr. Don - risky ☣️ Professor Ben - risky ☣️

This was a fun one. I had no idea how popular this belief seems to be, but we both think it's risky.

11.02.2026 17:48 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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887. Four Year Expired Beef Jerky From a Safe at the Bottom of the Ocean β€” Risky or Not? Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from eating four year expired beef jerky from a safe at the bottom of the ocean. Dr. Don - not risky πŸ‘πŸΌ Professor Ben - not risky πŸ‘πŸΌ

This was quite a wacky one. Not enough details but we made some assumptions and concluded #NotRisky

09.02.2026 17:47 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

Same.

07.02.2026 23:27 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Thanks for sharing. It’s very cool.

07.02.2026 02:13 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Your insight is appreciated as always!

The pickle party was a blast. Many delicious pickles, and no one got sick. Like you said, I wasn't specific about recipes or processes, but people were pretty cautious and did their research.

Next up: dumpling party!

06.02.2026 20:14 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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886. Attending a Pickle Party β€” Risky or Not? Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from attending a pickle party. Dr. Don - not risky πŸ‘πŸΌ Professor Ben - risky ☣️

This was a fun one, in part because there is no good definition for a pickle party, but we figure it out. www.riskyornot.co/ep... Ben shows his risk aversion when it comes to pickled foods!

06.02.2026 18:16 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
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a man in a tuxedo is playing drums on a stage and says bah dum tsk . ALT: a man in a tuxedo is playing drums on a stage and says bah dum tsk .
05.02.2026 02:55 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

πŸ™„

05.02.2026 02:53 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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885. Snowcream β€” Risky or Not? Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from snowcream. Dr. Don - not risky πŸ‘πŸΌ Professor Ben - not risky πŸ‘πŸΌ

I scream, you scream, we all scream for snowcream

04.02.2026 20:23 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

Ep 892

04.02.2026 03:55 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

traffic.libsyn.com/riskyornot/R... where x is the episode number

04.02.2026 03:53 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

We got you. This one is in the can and set to drop soon.

04.02.2026 02:59 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I’ll say #NotRisky

04.02.2026 02:56 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

It should be!

04.02.2026 02:56 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Depends on the baby.

04.02.2026 02:55 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0