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Someone sent this to me this morning and I thought it is good to know about it...... Every body should read this... > > > > I have used an onion which has been left in the fridge, and sometimes > > I don't use a whole one at one time, so save the other half for later. > > Now with this info, I have changed my mind....will buy smaller onions > > in the future... > > > > Written by Zola Gorgon - author of several cookbooks.. > > Watch out for those spoiled onions... > > > > > > I had the > > wonderful privilege of touring Mullins Food Products, makers of > > mayonnaise. Mullins is huge, and is owned by 11 brothers and sisters > > in the Mullins family. My friend, Jeanne, is the CEO. > > > > Questions about food poisoning came up, and I wanted to share what I > > learned from a chemist. > > > > The guy who gave us our tour is named Ed. He's one of the brothers. > > Ed is a chemistry expert and is involved in developing most of the > > sauce formula. He's even developed sauce formula for McDonald's. > > > > Keep in mind that Ed is a food chemistry whiz. During the tour, > > someone asked if we really needed to worry about mayonnaise. People > > are always worried that mayonnaise will spoil. Ed's answer will > > surprise you. > > Ed said that all commercially-made Mayo is completely safe. > > > > "It doesn't even have to be refrigerated. No harm in refrigerating it, > > but it's not really necessary." He explained that the pH in > > mayonnaise is set at a point that bacteria could not survive in that > > environment. He then talked about the quint essential picnic, with > > the bowl of potato salad sitting on the table and how everyone blames > > the mayonnaise when someone gets sick. > > > > Ed says that when food poisoning is reported, the first thing the > > officials look for is when the 'victim' last ate ONIONS and where > > those onions came from (in the potato salad?). Ed says it's not the > > mayonnaise (as long as it's not homemade Mayo) that spoils in the > > outdoors. It's probably the onions, and if > > not the onions, it's the > > POTATOES. > > > > He explained, onions are a huge magnet for bacteria, especially > > uncooked onions. You should never plan to keep a portion of a sliced > > onion. He says it's not even safe if you put it in a zip-lock bag and > > put it in your refrigerator. > > It's already > > contaminated enough just by being cut > > open and out for a bit, that it can > > be a danger to you (and doubly watch out for those onions you put in > > your hotdogs at the baseball park!) > > > > Ed says if you take the leftover onion and cook it like crazy you'll > > probably be okay, but if you slice that leftover onion and put on your > > sandwich, you're asking for trouble. Both the onions and the moist > > potato in a potato salad, will attract and grow bacteria faster than > > any commercial mayonnaise will even begin to break down. > > > > So, how's that for news? Take it for what you will. I (the author) am > > going to be very careful about my onions from now on. For some reason, > > I see a lot of credibility coming from a chemist and a company, that > > produces millions of pounds of mayonnaise every year.' > > > > Also, dogs should never eat onions. Their stomachs cannot metabolise > > onions.