Cooking as a cure-all. I've cooked the food and killed all the bacteria. Hotline specialists respond by explaining to consumers that thorough cooking destroys bacteria that cause illness. However, other factors can come into play to compromise the safety of cooked foods. Cooked foods can also be recontaminated by exposure to bacteria through lack of food-handler hygiene.
Many consumers call with questions about long-term storage.
There are actually two misunderstandings at work here. The second, that long-term storage compromises food safety. Many consumers believe that spoiled food causes foodborne disease. As our specialists explain, it's not so. Any food, fresh or frozen, can contain dangerous bacteria if it has been mishandled.