If you've ever suffered gastrointestinal distress after a barbecue, it might not have been the potato salad — it might have been someone's terrible food safety practices. Specifically, they probably didn't wash their hands.

There's no magic force field that holds back germs while you shout "five-second rule!" and scoop up your dropped cured meat. Duh, right? Here's how you can prove it.

We might be heading into winter, but that doesn't mean you can forget all about safe serving temperature. People are always particularly concerned about mayo-based salads - especially if it's been subjected to a lengthy car trip. But fret not, you can keep things chill with a shower cap.

Have you ever employed the 'sniff test' to tell if something is past its use-by-date? Do you prescribe to the 'five-second rule' when food gets dropped? And just how dangerous are burger patties that are still pink in the middle? We put all three to the test with science.

After you cook food, you put it in the fridge to keep it safe. Right? So what about yesterday's pizza that's still sitting in its box on the kitchen counter? Good news: A food safety expert tells us that day-old cheese pizza is "low risk".

Meat is not for everyone. If you didn't grow up in a meat-eating household, or if you're a former vegetarian, cooking it can seem a little daunting. It is, however, not that hard to cook, but there are some common concerns people have when they first embark down the path of cooking animals.

Cruise ships are considered to be notorious hotbeds for illness, especially the "firing out both ends" kind. If you'd rather spend your trip soaking up sun and drinking Bahama Mamas than seeing your buffet dinner in reverse, follow these tips.

Diet soft drink may or may not kill you, and full flavour soft drink may or may not kill you. Either way: if you're getting your fix at a fast-food soft drink fountain, there's a good chance you're guzzling it down with a side of faecal matter. But maybe only if you're in the UK!

Due to its low-ish smoke point, olive oil isn't the best choice for searing meats or other single-layer, high-temperature cooking methods. However, as Chef Helen Rennie explains, that doesn't mean you can't crank up the heat when cooking a range of foods in olive oil - from caramelised onions to sauted potatoes.

Food poisoning sucks, but if you do get it, you should know how to figure out which type it is, what you're in for, and the best way to deal with it so you can feel better.

On a scale from "1" to "listeria" the amount of stomach trouble I would expect a bowl of rice to give me falls around a "2", but apparently the seemingly innocuous grain can inflict a lot of pain if it isn't stored properly.

Cities have plenty of forageable food available, from plants that grow as weeds to fruit trees and bushes that were either abandoned, or were planted just for looks. But is this food too polluted to eat? Probably not, according to two teams of scientists who have tested it.

Back in the office today? Go check the fridge. It's fairly likely to at least have a carton of milk that expired on Boxing Day.

Apparently this is less than ideal, and the Food Safety Information Council is urging workers and employers to avoid food poisoning by taking care of "that much neglected workplace kitchen".

Kombucha is a fermented tea that people enjoy for the taste, but also for probiotic benefits that can support healthier digestion. It's so popular that many kombucha lovers go the homebrew route to customise their own. The problem, though, is that when brewed incorrectly it can be a serious food safety risk.

Freezing food for later consumption is a good way to stretch your grocery bill but, for the best-tasting, safest leftovers, you only want to freeze and thaw cooked food once.

New research released by the Food Safety Information Council for Australian Food Safety Week shows that 36 per cent of Australians are taking a risk by eating raw egg dishes with 10 per cent eating raw egg dishes at least once a month. Not only is this completely gag-worthy, but the consumption of raw egg dishes has been linked to increased numbers of salmonella outbreaks.

Whether you're evacuating because of fire or you're just leaving for a holiday, you'll want to know if the power went out while you were away for any substantial amount of time. Fill a cup with water, put it in the freezer until it's solid, then pop a coin on top. Leave it in there, and when you get back, check.

It's no fun to lose power for hours or days, especially if you end up having to throw out the food in your fridge. If you know a big storm is coming, you can keep food safe longer by filling your freezer with jugs of water.

Sell by, best if used by, expires on, display until; the shelf life of food seems like it's a well regulated, concrete affair, but it's not: It differs by region and type of food. In the end, those labels mean almost nothing, which leads to both food waste and an assumption of safety.