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PODCAST

Risky or Not?

Don Schaffner and Ben Chapman

Risky or Not is a short podcast from Professor Ben Chapman from North Carolina State University, and Dr. Don Schaffner from Rutgers University. Dr. Don and Professor Chapman promise to do their best not to waffle, dither, dissemble or equivocate, and to give straight up answers about whether something is risky or not.

science life sciences

All Episodes

11:42

844. Eating Candy Given to You by a Streaker

Risky or Not? ·

2025/10/31

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from eating candy given to you by a streaker. Fedica text: Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Streaking - Wikipedia What was it like to take the final exam at Dartmouth where '[t]wo women streaked […], throwing out candy'? - Quora Ian McKellen (Gandalf) takes a break on his MacBook Pro while filming "The Hobbit" : r/Moviesinthemaking

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07:47

843. Properly Cooked Isopod Fish Tongue Parasite

Risky or Not? ·

2025/10/29

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from eating a properly cooked isopod fish tongue parasite. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Fish at the grocery store had one of those isopod tongue parasites : r/mildlyinteresting Cymothoa exigua - Wikipedia Parasite Replaces A Fish's Tongue : r/ScavengersReign Giant isopod - Wikipedia Tongue-eating parasites inspire new horror movie | American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

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13:57

842. Freezing Parboiled Potatoes in Large Masses

Risky or Not? ·

2025/10/27

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks associated with freezing parboiled potatoes in bulk so they cool slowly. Dr. Don - risky ☣️ Professor Ben - risky ☣️ Large Outbreak of Botulism: The Hazardous Baked Potato | The Journal of Infectious Diseases | Oxford Academic Freezing New Irish Potatoes - National Center for Home Food Preservation Parboiling - Wikipedia BlackSabbath – War Pigs Lyrics | Genius Lyrics

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14:23

841. Watered Down Hand Soap

Risky or Not? ·

2025/10/24

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from using watered down hand soap. Dr. Don - risky ☣️ Professor Ben - risky ☣️ Influence of Soap Characteristics and Food Service Facility Type on the Degree of Bacterial Contamination of Open, Refillable Bulk Soaps - ScienceDirect

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13:34

840. DIY French Burger Kit

Risky or Not? ·

2025/10/22

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from eating food from a DIY french burger kit. Dr. Don - risky ☣️ Professor Ben - risky ☣️ DIY Burger Kit in France : r/mildlyinteresting Monty Python - The French Taunter - HD WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES - YouTube Fresh Ground Beef Color: A Consumer Guide Costco’s New Pre-Made Burgers Leave Much To Be Desired New at our Costco - Verona, WI. Bacon Cheddar Burger kits. 🍔 : r/Costco Gasoline Grill - Our burger kit is making a comeback for Super… |

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18:25

839. 24 Hour Old Pumpkin Spice Latte

Risky or Not? ·

2025/10/20

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from drinking a 24 hour old Pumpkin Spice Latte. Dr. Don - risky ☣️ Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Home – KonMari | The Official Website of Marie Kondo Pumpkin Spice Latte: Starbucks Coffee Company Significance of Bacterial Spores in Milk - ScienceDirect Short communication: Bacterial ecology of high-temperature, short-time pasteurized milk processed in the United States - ScienceDirect

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12:52

838. Opened Refrigerated Organic Lemonade After 4 Weeks

Risky or Not? ·

2025/10/17

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from consuming opened organic lemonade refrigerated for 4 weeks. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Kirkland Signature, Organic Lemonade, 96 fl oz, 2-Count | Costco mycotoxin fruit juice - Google Scholar Mycotoxins in Fruits, Fruit Juices, and Dried Fruits - ScienceDirect Ochratoxin A in beverages from Morocco: a preliminary survey: Food Additives and Contaminants: Vol 18 , No 6

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09:36

837. Eating Powdered Teflon

Risky or Not? ·

2025/10/15

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from deliberately eating powdered teflon. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 The 35th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony – Improbable Research Teflon diet, garlic milk and zebra cows triumph at 2025 Ig Nobel prizes | Ig Nobel prizes | The Guardian Meet the 2025 Ig Nobel Prize winners - Ars Technica Polytetrafluoroethylene Ingestion as a Way to Increase Food Volume and Hence Satiety Without Increasing Calorie Content - PMC

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10:54

836. Canned Pet Food

Risky or Not? ·

2025/10/13

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from eating canned pet food. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Jim Nielsen: “My wife came home with a giant…” - Mastodon Nummy Tum-Tum Pure Organic Pumpkin Canned Dog & Cat Food Supplement | Chewy (Free Shipping) Whats the Difference Between Raw and Pasteurized Milk? Pet Food | FDA

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12:35

835. "Cooking" a Wrapped Egg in a Compost Pile

Risky or Not? ·

2025/10/10

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from cooking a wrapped egg in a compost pile. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Composting Temperature Egg update : r/composting Onsen Tamago (Japanese-style Soft-Boiled Egg) - RecipeTin Japan British Lion Eggs | What Does the Lion Stamp Mean | Egg Info Cooking Eggs Sous Vide

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13:24

834. Washing Drinking Glasses With Only Hot Water and...

Risky or Not? ·

2025/10/08

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of washing drinking glasses with only hot water and friction. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Still too hot: Examination of water temperature and water heater characteristics 24 years after manufacturers adopt voluntary temperature setting - PMC Quantifying the Effects of Water Temperature, Soap Volume, Lather Time, and Antimicrobial Soap as Variables in the Removal of Escherichia coli ATCC 11229 from Hands - ScienceDirect

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17:48

833. British Dishwashing Method

Risky or Not? ·

2025/10/06

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from using the British dishwashing method. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Bacon Method Instagram Is It Safe To Clean Your Dishes The ‘British Way’? Health Experts Explain Three the Hard Way (film) - Wikipedia Human health risk assessment of chloroxylenol in liquid hand soap and dishwashing soap used by consumers and health-care professionals - ScienceDirect Ingestion of bar soap may produce serious injury: clinical effects

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11:22

832. Biting the Head Off a Bat or Dove

Risky or Not? ·

2025/10/03

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from biting the head off a bat or a dove. Fedica text: Dr. Don - risky ☣️ Professor Ben - risky ☣️ Black Sabbath ~ War Pigs - YouTube War Pigs - Wikipedia Fairies Wear Boots - YouTube Fairies Wear Boots - Wikipedia Did Ozzy Osbourne really bite the head off a live bat? Frontiers | An overview of bats microbiota and its implication in transmissible diseases Bacterial and Parasitic Diseases of Columbiformes - PMC

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16:14

831. Drinking Coffee Made With Water From a Reservoir...

Risky or Not? ·

2025/10/01

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of drinking coffee made from a coffee maker that has algae growing in the transparent water reservoir. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 The coffee-machine bacteriome: biodiversity and colonisation of the wasted coffee tray leach - PMC Preliminary Investigation on Hygienic-Sanitary Quality of Food Vending Machines - PMC Safety and quality assessment of hot-drinks vending machines in Southern Italy - ScienceDirect Toxic or

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17:58

830. Eating Skate Ice

Risky or Not? ·

2025/09/29

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of eating ice off of your hockey skates. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Raptors Instagram 571. Hockey Ice Gum — Risky or Not? Ice resurfacer - Wikipedia 316. Using Cups to Scoop Water Out of a Shared Bowl — Risky or Not? How Untreated Water Will Affect The Quality Of Your Ice Surface NHL Unites | NHL.com Microbiological Quality of Packaged Ice from Various Sources in Georgia - ScienceDirect Arena ice quality and perspectives

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08:56

829. Betty Crocker Frosting Stored Out of Refrigeration

Risky or Not? ·

2025/09/26

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of storing frosting that says “Cover and refrigerate leftover frosting up to 30 days” at room temperature after opening. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Justin Ekins on X: “@benjaminchapman @bugcounter would it be risky or not to store this Betty Crocker vanilla frosting out of the refrigerator for, say, 6 months after opening and then use it to frost a cake? https://t.co/k7NDNlSksq” / X Let Them Eat Cake | Chemical Engineering

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19:30

828. Vintage US Meals, Ready-to-Eat (MREs)

Risky or Not? ·

2025/09/24

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of consuming “vintage” (i.e., old) MREs from around the world, but focusing in those from the US. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Meal, Ready-to-Eat - Wikipedia Ensuring the Safety and Quality of RTE Meals for U.S. Service Members | Food Safety Jeremy Zenlea | LinkedIn Army researchers dug into the effects of MREs on gut health, here’s what they discovered | Article | The United States Army Shelf-Stable Food Safety | Food

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19:12

827. Bloated Meat Packages

Risky or Not? ·

2025/09/22

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of meat from puffy or bloated packages. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Basset Hound Bloat Chart 465. Kurtis’s Puffy Sausage — Risky or Not? Are “Bloated” Meat Packages Safe? We Asked a Food Safety Expert | The Kitchn TikTok - Always check your meat for this! Modified Atmosphere and Vacuum Packaging of Meat and Poultry Products: Food Reviews International: Vol 18, No 4 Advancing sustainability through modified atmosphere

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12:20

826. Ballpark Cheeseburger With Self-Serve Sticky Cheese

Risky or Not? ·

2025/09/19

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from eating Ballpark cheeseburger made with with self-serve sticky cheese handled by others. Fedica text: Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Alexandria Aces Collegiate Summer Baseball Team in Alexandria, Virginia A Study of Staphylococcus Aureus Growth in Model Systems and Processed Cheese - MAGRINI - 1983 - Journal of Food Science - Wiley Online Library High Hand Contamination Rates During Norovirus Outbreaks in Long-Term Care

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17:39

825. Air Cooled Hard Boiled Eggs After a Week at Room...

Risky or Not? ·

2025/09/17

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from eating air cooled hard boiled eggs after a week at room temperature. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 775. Coin in Cup for Freezer Safety After Power Outages — Risky or Not? FDA Food Code | FDA 210. Air cooled hard boiled eggs at room temperature — Risky or Not? 467. Rich’s Hard Boiled Eggs (With Bra Egg Bonus) — Risky or Not? Hard-Cooked Egg Shelf Life - ScienceDirect

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