What you see: A milky white substance leaks out of your freshly chopped lettuce. What it is: Lettuce latex!Eat or toss: Eat! This is a natural part of the
Can you eat the dark line or “vein” on shrimp?
What you see: The black line or “vein” on the outer curve of your shrimp. What it is: The shrimp’s digestive tract! It's sometimes called a “sand vein.”Eat or
Potato squirts during chopping?!?
What you see: A potato that squirts while you’re chopping. What it is: A potato packing lots of water!Eat or toss: Eat! This potato is just fine. Is it OK
Can you cook with raw meat past “use by” or “sell by” dates?
The U.S Department of Agriculture recommends that raw meat be cooked within three to five days of purchase, and one to two days for ground meat. But, since
Big spots on snap peas
What you see: Large, rough, ringed “spots” on your snap peas. What it is: Fungal growth.Eat or toss: Mostly toss, but if some pods look normal, you could still
Pitted surface of yogurt
What you see: Your yogurt’s surface looks pitted, with tiny depressions. What it is: Probably the remnants of some tiny bubbles generated during processing. Eat
What’s the string at the end of a carrot?
What you see: A white “string” at the bottom of your carrot.What it is: The very end of the carrot!Eat or toss: Eat! More carrot! Yes, you can eat the string
Moldy eggs
What you see: Your eggs have something unexpected, likely black, growing on the surface or possibly inside the shells. They look like the eggs in the images in
Squishy, foaming, leaking potatoes — eeek!
What you see: Your RAW potatoes are foaming. And/or, when you squeeze one, it’s as soft as mashed potatoes. Other potatoes may be sitting in pools of
What’s the white film on blueberries?
What you see: A whitish film on your blueberries. What it is: A naturally occurring protective coating called bloom. Eat or toss: Eat! That silvery film
Creepy black holes inside potatoes
What you see: Black-lined caverns inside your potatoes. What it is: An injury of some kind. Possibly from pressure or from being stored too cold.Eat or
Orange dots on your blueberries?
What you see: Orange dots on your blueberries. What it is: Spore masses!Eat or toss: Toss the spotty berries, but unaffected ones will probably be
Bubbles on yogurt seal?
What you see: Bubbles on the plastic film sealing up your yogurt. What it is: Probably a harmless processing issue. Eat or toss: If the yogurt otherwise
Strange bumps or markings on green bean
What you see: Your green bean looks a little rugged, but doesn’t appear to be rotting. What it is: Likely damage from the wind.Eat or toss: Eat! This green bean
Wispy white spots on blueberries
What you see: Cottony white spots on your blueberries; probably where the stem attached or where there might have been a wound in the blueberry’s skin. What it
Long brown lines or arches in potato?
What you see: Brown lines in an arch-like or ring pattern inside your potato.What it is: Evidence of a potato virus!Eat or toss: Cut around the brown areas and
