Today, the What Would You Do If question comes from Texan Mama over at Who Put Me In Charge Of These People. She sent me an e-mail about something that happened to her and wondered what other people do in this situation.
Please read Texan Mama's story from her e-mail and then offer your opinion/answer in the comments.
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Oh, something happened to me today and I thought, I wonder what other people would do in this situation...
It's not exactly controversial, but it's a thinker.
I'll just tell ya as it happened to me.
I had just returned from a long day, dropping the kids at school, then to Target to shop, then to Bible study, then finally home at noon. Upon getting home to put away the groceries, I look at the jam I am about to put away in the pantry. I notice the little "popper button" is popped UP. Hmmm, shouldn't it be down? I press it and, yup, it's up. So I go to open the jar and notice a little dent in the side of the metal lid. My immediate thought is, oh, the popper must have popped up when this jar got dropped. I probably dropped it or it banged against something in the van. I open the jar and everything looks brand new and fine. I give it the smell test - pass with flying colors. So, what did I do?I just put it away in the fridge.
Am I playing roulette with my family's health? Maybe. Could I have returned it and gotten a new one? Dunno, probably. Should I have just thrown it away and chucked up the loss of $2 to being cheaper than a medical bill of hundreds?
Quite possibly.
But I did none of those. I put the jam in the fridge.
Maybe I should go get it now and pitch it....
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16 comments:
I am not going to say what you did was "wrong," because I don't think it is, by any means. I have a hard time figuring out WHAT I would do in this situation. Sitting here, I am thinking that I would take it back, but if I were actually in the situation I am not sure I would actually take it back. I would probably do the same "tests," you did and pray that nothing happens. I don't know. eek!
This is a really good question! Here's what MY scenario would probably look like. I would do the same "tests" that you did, and stick it in the fridge. Then I would think about it, and wonder how long it had been on the store shelf with the seal popped. Then I would think about taking it back, knowing full well that I would never get around to it. I'd probably visit it a few more times in the fridge, and smell it some more. Then I would end up throwing it away because by then I would be obsessing about botulism :).
I think I'd first be concerned about tampering with a jar of jam. I'd probably have taken it back.
I would have probably tried to take it back and if they wouldn't have I would have used it if it passed all the other testing you did to it.
I would just throw it out. It wouldn't be worth the trip back to the store (unless I was REALLY in need of that jam at that point in time), and it would not be worth the risk to my family's health. Especially with all the thiings you hear about these days that are making people sick and/or even killing them; simple things that people eat everyday without a second thought.
So I would definitely chuck it out and be short $2. Just to be safe.
I try to pay attention in the store so I don't come home with anything that has been dented before it touched my hands. If I was really in doubt I'd probably chuck it.
Tania
A container with a popped lid would certainly find its way to the garbage, pronto!
~AirmanMom returning to her blog...
i am a safety and health engineer, so i alway err on the side of caution. i would honestly throw the jam away or return it only because you really don't know how long it was like that nor do you know WHY it was the way you found it.
one thing is for certain, though, if one of your family gets sick or worse from eating the jam, you will never forgive yourself for having prior knowledge that the jam could, indeed, be tainted.
all that being said, i don't throw out all dented cans. i try not to buy cans of food that have obvious dents, though. but, i never use anything with a broken seal!!!
l,
d
This happened to me not long ago with a jar of sweet pickles. I wasn't going back to the store any time soon, so I just chucked it. Losing a few bucks wasn't worth gambling with our health.
I threw out a can of roasted red peppers just last night because of this same thing.
Had I been cooking with the roasted red peppers that night, I probably would have done the taste tests and then cooked it. Otherwise, I usually just chuck it.
I would have probably thrown it away, or if I was in the mood, I would have returned it. But, then again, if I saw that nothing was wrong, I might have put it in the fridge, too.... Hmmm, I'm not quite sure WHAT I would do :/ Good question, Kellan!
Hey everybody. Just to clear something up, when I picked up the jam at the store, I am about 80% sure it was NOT popped up. When I saw the dent on the lid at home, I tried to rack my brain and figure out if it got dented in transit or if it was like that when I bought it but just didn't notice. I couldn't remember, hard though I tried. When I opened the jar, it seemed like the first time it was opened, but I guess it could have been opened before? Later I thought about tampering, and I thought that if someone tried to tamper with it they probably would be careful NOT to leave a dent. Maybe it's all just convincing myself that I'm not a cheap idiot. BTW the expiration date isn't until Dec 2009. I and my kids have all tried the jam and it tastes fine, and we are all still alive today.
In retrospect, I think the reason I didn't throw it out was because it was a brand-new jar of jam and was 100% full. It seemed like such a waste. I know, I know... not a waste for health's sake....
:P
I did the exact same thing earlier this week. Jar of jam, was putting it away and the top felt loose, the little poppy thing was up instead of down... I check it, teh surface looked fine, it smelt fine... so I put it away. I'm pretty sure we're already eating it.
Generally, I think I try to check things as I buy them.... but things always slip by. It depends on what the product is, whether or not I'll keep it. Leakign milk or dairy, I'll take back and get replaced - 1)Dairy!! 2)With the price of dairy products atm, I can't afford NOT to take it back.
With things like Jams... hell, they're made with a load of preservatives anyway.... As long as it smelt and tasted fine, I'd chcuk it in the fridge straight away to be used, rather than putting it in the pantry.
i can get a little paranoid about these things, but I think I would pitch it or return it. (although it's probably OK:-)
I would have taken it back after doing all the tests that you did . . . but ONLY because I drive right by the grocery store every day on my way to work - so not an extra trip. If I had to drive out of my way? Not gonna happen - I would have pitched it.
this has happened to me before - with preserves - from target! i, too, gave it the smell test. we ate it. and we're fine.
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