What should you do with food if you are unsure about its safety?

• A. Throw it out
• B. Keep it and use later
• C. Feed it to a pet
• D. Freeze it for later

Answer: (A)

If you’re unsure about a food’s safety, discard it. That hesitation exists because illness from spoiled or contaminated food can happen even if the food looks or smells normal. Cooking or freezing later doesn’t reliably make unsafe food safe, since some bacteria and toxins aren’t destroyed by heat and can cause illness when eaten. Keeping the item for later or freezing it doesn’t reduce that risk, and feeding questionable food to pets can also be dangerous because many human foods are toxic to animals. The safest choice is to throw it away to prevent possible foodborne illness.