The curious consumer podcast
safefood microbiologists, Linda Gordon and Mairead McCann, are on a quest to de-mystify food safety by separating fact from fiction.
So if you’re curious about the origins of the 5 second rule or who started food dating, then this is the podcast for you.
Episode 1: The 5-second rule - fact or fiction?
The 5 second rule is a long-fabled belief that if you drop some food on the floor and scoop it up quickly it’s safe to eat. But is it? And where did the rule come from? Listen to The Curious Consumer podcast as food microbiologists Linda Gordon and Mairead McCann find out.
Read more about the 5-second rule
Episode 2: How handwashing became key to preventing disease
"Wash, wash, wash your hands, thumbs and fingers too. Rinse and make sure their dry that’s the thing to do.” This has become the mantra of the Covid-19 pandemic. But did you know that in the late 19th century hand washing was controversial medical advice? So controversial, a respected physician lost his job because he advocated handwashing as a way to prevent the spread of germs from doctor to patient.
Listen to The Curious Consumer podcast as our food microbiologists Linda Gordon and Mairead McCann delve into the story of handwashing.
Episode 3: The truth behind "best before" and "use by" dates
What have mobster Al Capone and food labelling got in common? His family lobbied for food dating on milk!
Listen to The Curious Consumer podcast as food microbiologists Linda Gordon and Mairead McCann investigate food labels and why we need them.
Read more best before and use by dates
Episode 4: Well done, that's how to cook your burger
Who invented the burger? The French, Americans, Germans? And how did the cook it? Well done? As well bringing us roads, indoor plumbing and heated bath, the Romans came up with the first hamburger!
Listen to The Curious Consumer podcast as our food microbiologists Linda Gordon and Mairead McCann look into the facts behind cooking burgers.
Read more how to cook your burger
Episode 5: There are no old bold mushroom hunters
In ancient Ireland, foraging was the norm and people believed that there was a different herb to cure the ills of each part of the body. Nowadays people are not so knowledgeable about the powers of foraged plants and berries. In fact, sometimes eating the wrong plant can cause life threatening illnesses and even death.
Listen to this episode of The Curious Consumer podcast as food microbiologist, Linda Gordon and clinical director of the Poisons Information Centre, Edel Duggan separate the facts from sometimes fatal fiction.
Episode 6: How research shapes food safety advertising
Did you know that cooking turkey for Christmas is said to have started with Henry VIII?
And that it was US author Sarah Josepha Hale that made turkey part of the Thanksgiving tradition?
Food habits and traditions are shaped by history and science. And in this episode of The Curious Consumer, food microbiologist Linda Gordon and nutritionist Aileen McGloin explore how we shape food safety habits through research and behavioural change interventions. They breakdown how safefood developed its latest meat thermometer campaign for summer BBQing and cooking turkeys.
Read more about how to check your meat is cooked properly
