Tag: food safety

The Dirty Truth Behind the “Dirty Dozen”

By: Abi Saeed

Pesticide residues and risk assessments have been a major topic of interest and inquiry for me for over a decade, and something that I wanted to write about on the Blog for quite some time. Over the past couple of months, I have had several inquiries from people regarding the “Dirty Dozen” list, so I thought this was the perfect time to organize the evidence-based data on this topic. To see a prior post on this topic, you should also check out Jeff Gillman’s post on the Dirty Dozen from 2010 and a follow up post from 2011.… Continue reading this article “The Dirty Truth Behind the “Dirty Dozen””

The complicated issue of heavy metals in residential soils. Part 3: How can we garden safely in the presence of heavy metals?

This is the last part of our discussion on gardening in soils that contain heavy metals (you can catch up on part 1 and part 2 if you need to). Today we’ll focus on the strategies you can use in your gardens and landscapes to reduce your exposure to soil-borne heavy metals.

Raised beds can be an easy solution for gardeners with contaminated soils

Test your soil!

First – and this should really go without saying – you must test your soil to determine if it contains heavy metals of concern.… Continue reading this article “The complicated issue of heavy metals in residential soils. Part 3: How can we garden safely in the presence of heavy metals?”

Smashing Pumpkin Myths: Bleaching to extend shelf (and porch) life

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Scrolling through social media in September and October and you may see those basic signs of the season: scarves, pumpkin spice lattes, sweaters, and Halloween ideas galore.  One of those Halloween ideas is to extend the life of your pumpkins, carved or otherwise, by giving them a treatment with household bleach.  Keep scrolling and you might see another post decrying the use of bleach as inhumane and poisoning for wildlife.  So which is it?  Is bleach safe to use as a sanitizer on your jack-o’-lantern or are you poisoning the neighborhood squirrels? … Continue reading this article “Smashing Pumpkin Myths: Bleaching to extend shelf (and porch) life”

The Scoop on Poop: Manure in the Vegetable Garden (and potential food safety risks)

“Can I use manure to fertilize my garden?”  That’s a common question we get in Extension and on the Garden Professors page.  The answer is absolutely, but there’s a “but” that should follow that answer that not everyone shares.  And that is…but for fruits and vegetable gardens the manure you apply could be a potential source of human pathogens that could make you or your family sick. There are procedures and waiting periods you should follow to reduce the potential risk to human health from pathogens in manure and other animal products.”… Continue reading this article “The Scoop on Poop: Manure in the Vegetable Garden (and potential food safety risks)”