Don Schaffner and Ben Chapman

Risky or Not?

Science EN ↓ 992 episodes

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.

Be sure to visit the podcast's website and support the creator: riskyornot.co

Author

Don Schaffner and Ben Chapman

Category

Science

Podcast website

riskyornot.co

Latest episode

Oct 14, 2026

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Episodes

868. Homemade Caramel Sauce Left Out Over Night 26.12.2025

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from leaving homemade caramel sauce out over night. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼  Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼   David Mitchell (comedian) - Wikipedia Great White North - YouTube Mayor Clint Eastwood | Carmel-by-the-Sea, California Sweetened Condensed Milk Caramel Recipe Shelf stable caramel sauce : r/foodscience Water activity and its relevance Hit Som...

867. Using Tongs 24.12.2025

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from using tongs to pick up food. Fedica text: Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼  Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Post by @bharrap.bsky.social — Bluesky

866. Thawing Chicken With an Aquarium Pump 22.12.2025

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of using an aquarium pump to circulate the water to aid in thawing a chicken in a cooler of water. Fedica text: Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼  Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Alton Brown Aquarium Pump thawing Instagram 86. Thawing Poultry at Room Temperature — Risky or Not? Quick food thawing with running water versus a recirculating faucet: Comparison of t...

865. Cleaning a Food Thermometer With Just Water 19.12.2025

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of cleaning a food thermometer with just water. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Cleaning and Other Control and Validation Strategies To Prevent Allergen Cross-Contact in Food-Processing Operations - ScienceDirect Evaluation of the potential for electronic thermometers to contribute to spread of healthcare-associated pathogens -...

864. Tap Water From a Sketchy Bathroom Sink 17.12.2025

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from drinking tapwater from a bathroom sink where the bathroom smells like a bathroom. Fedica text: Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Arc - Robot or Not? #310 - The Incomparable Water Quality : r/Brooklyn The toilet at NYC club CBGB - by Chris Stein : r/UtterlyUniquePhotos CBGB - Wikipedia Cat's Cradle | Live Music and Concerts |...

863. Taking a Pill Dropped in the Bathroom Sink 15.12.2025

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from taking a pill dropped in the bathroom sink for less than five seconds. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) - Mayo Clinic Rutgers Researchers Debunk 'Five-Second Rule': Eating Food off the Floor Isn't Safe | Rutgers University SINKSHROOM Ultra Revolutionary Bathroom Sink Dog, Cat...

862. Wearing "New" Clothes Without Washing 12.12.2025

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of wearing "new" (to you) clothes without washing first. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Robot or Not? - a podcast from The Incomparable Ep. 604: "Unintentional Curator" - Roderick on the Line - Merlin Mann Potential Skin Pathogens on Second Hand Clothes and the Effectiveness of Disinfection Methods - Semantic Scholar "Public H...

861. Russel's 120 °F Prime Rib 10.12.2025

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from Russel's 120 °F prime rib recipe, which is a follow up to episode 854, Chef John's Perfect Prime Rib. Dr. Don - risky ☣️ Professor Ben - risky ☣️ 854. Chef John's Perfect Prime Rib — Risky or Not? Conference for Food Protection, Inc - Issues 2025-III-33 Raw Animal Foods Come-Up-Time (CUT) Conference for Food Protection, Inc - Biennial Meeting Mat...

860. Unpasteurized Apple Cider Vinegar for Pregnant or Immunocompromised People 08.12.2025

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of unpasteurized apple cider vinegar for pregnant or immunocompromised people. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼  Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 The Different Types of Apple Cider Vinegar | OSU Apple Cider Vinegar Apple Cider Vinegar in Pregnancy: Safety, Benefits, and Uses Determination of 5-log reduction times for Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella enteric...

859. Medium Rare Duck Breast and HPAI 05.12.2025

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of contracting high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) from medium rare duck breast. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Food Safety Talk 251: Too Many Brooms — Food Safety Talk Instagram Duck Breast Video Thermal Inactivation of H5N1 High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza Virus in Naturally Infected Chicken Meat - ScienceDirect Rapi...

858. Crockpot Chicken at Room Temperature "All Day" 03.12.2025

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of holding raw chicken at room temperature "all day" before cooking. Dr. Don - risky ☣️ Professor Ben - risky ☣️ Staphylococcosis in Poultry - Poultry - Merck Veterinary Manual Evaluation of the Prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus in Chicken Fillets and Its Bio-Control Using Different Seaweed Extracts - PMC

857. Water Bathed Canned Turkey Noodle Soup 01.12.2025

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of turkey noodle soup that's been boiling water bath canning for 2 hours. Dr. Don - risky ☣️ Professor Ben - risky ☣️ Canning - National Center for Home Food Preservation Ball® Blue Book Guide to Preserving 38th Edition, Recipe Book | Ball Iowa State Factsheet, Botulism Heat-Resistance Studies on Spores of Putrefactive Anaerobes in Relation to Determi...

856. Feeding Sealed Byheart Baby Formula to a Baby 28.11.2025

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of feeding recalled sealed Byheart baby formula to a baby. Fedica text: Dr. Don - risky ☣️ Professor Ben - risky ☣️ ByHeart recalls organic baby formula amid infant botulism outbreak | AP News Infant Botulism Outbreak Linked to Infant Formula, November 2025 | Botulism | CDC Seven-Year Case-Control Study in California of Risk Factors for Infant Botulis...

855. Cooking Raw Turkey to 155 °F 26.11.2025

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of cooking raw turkey to only 155 °F Fedica text: Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Alton Brown Cooks Food | Episode 1: The Big Bird - YouTube Archive: National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) | Food Safety and Inspection Service Does Anybody Remember Laughter? - YouTube FSIS Cooking Guideline fo...

854. Chef John's Perfect Prime Rib 24.11.2025

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of making rare roast beef. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Chef John's Perfect Prime Rib Recipe John Mitzewich - Allrecipes Supplemental Questions and Answers on Descriptive Designation for Needle-Or Blade - Tenderized (Mechanically Tenderized) Beef Products USDA Finalizes Rule to Require Labeling of Mechanically Tenderized Bee...

853. Using a Swiss Army Knife Toothpick 21.11.2025

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from using a swiss army knife toothpick. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼  Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼   Victorinox Swiss Army Pioneer Alox Pocket Knife | REEDS Jewelers Victorinox Swiss Army Spartan Knife in Red | REEDS Jewelers Swiss Army knife - Wikipedia Mammoth Tooth Swiss Army Knife How to Clean the Swiss Army Knife Toothpick (EN). - YouTube Gerber S...

852. Prosciutto Di Parma at Room Temperature for Months 19.11.2025

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of eating hand sliced Prosciutto ham stored at room temperature for months. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼  Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼   Prosciutto - Wikipedia Prosciutto Di Parma Specifications Influence of Water Activity on Growth and Enterotoxin Formation by Staphylococcus aureus in Foods - Troller- 1975 - Journal of Food Science - Wiley Online Libra...

851. Eric's Fizzy Grapefuit Juice 17.11.2025

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of consuming in date but fizzy grapefruit juice from a mechanically stressed container. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼  Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼   There's No Crying in Baseball - A League of Their Own (5/8) Movie CLIP (1992) HD - YouTube It's Not My Fault But It Is My Problem | Psychology Today Are the Twins From the Netflix Documentary Experiment Sti...

850. Dishwasher Lasagna 14.11.2025

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of eating dishwasher lasagna (aka lasagna alla lavastoviglie) Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼  Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼   753. Re-Heating Leftovers Indefinitely and the Lasagna of Theseus — Risky or Not? 195. Dishwasher Salmon — Risky or Not? How To Make Lasagna Without An Oven, with Peter Sagal : How To Do Everything : NPR Transcript for How To Make L...

849. Eating a Hollywood Chewing-Gum Cardboard Box 12.11.2025

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of Eating a Cardboard Box of Hollywood Chewing-Gum, Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼  Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼   Is it safe to eat cardboard? : r/stupidquestions Hollywood 2fresh (FreshenUp) Chewing Gum - Peppermint | EVN Green Mint Chewing-Gum Hollywood | Buy Online | My French Grocery Full article: Food contact materials: an effect-based evaluation of...

848. Cooking Stuffing Inside the Turkey 10.11.2025

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of cooking stuffing inside the turkey. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼  Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼   John Wyatt on X: "Today I get to enjoy the yearly tradition where my father gives me a hard time about insisting that stuffing be cooked in the bird when I should "know better" because I'm a health inspector (It's my favourite food, and the risk is easily...

847. Using a "Found" Pocket Mouth Guard 07.11.2025

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of using a mouthguard from the coaches mouthguard pocket. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼  Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼   The Hockey Song by Warren Zevon - YouTube The Planet Smashers - Uncle Gordie - YouTube Amazon.com: Zen Driving: Be a Buddha Behind the Wheel of Your Automobile: 9780345353504: Berger, K.T.: Books 316. Using Cups to Scoop Water Out of a...

846. Spraying Mouthguard With Ethanol and Propanol 05.11.2025

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from spraying mouthguard with ethanol and propanol. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼  Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼   Isopropanol poisoning: Clinical Toxicology: Vol 52, No 5 Clean with 'alcohol'? | TrumpetBoards SISU Fresh Cinnamint 1 oz. Mouthguard Spray : Target SafeJawz Mouthguard Disinfectant Spray. Mint Flavoured – Fighters Inc. - Martial Arts Equipmen...

845. Family Dinner Into Which a Cat Dropped a Mouse 03.11.2025

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from eating dinner into which a cat dropped a mouse. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼  Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼   Security camera catches cat dropping mouse into human family's dinner - UPI.com Food Defect Levels Handbook | FDA Survival of leptospires in the environment - Leptospirosis Information Ecologic studies of rodent reservoirs: their relevance f...

844. Eating Candy Given to You by a Streaker 31.10.2025

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/Moviesinthema...

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