Moose Meat and Social Networking

November 11, 12:17 PMFood ExaminerEric Burkett

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It’s not a question many cooks or journalists hear too often, but it does happen occasionally. Tracy, a former editor of mine, sent me this question from Alaska:

Last night I made a lovely shepherd's pie out of ground moose, with carrots, potatoes, onions, peas and a butter-flour-Worcestershire gravy. There was a lot left over so I left it in a shallow Pyrex dish on the counter, expecting to go back in and put it in the fridge after it had cooled. Accidentally fell asleep, though, so it sat out on the counter in 60-ish degree temp from 9:30 p.m. to 7 a.m. Is there any way to rehabilitate the now-questionable concoction, or is it now only fit for my dogs?

My reply wasn’t what she had hoped for but her dogs certainly enjoyed a great lunch. Other than the fact the question was about moose-meat shepherd’s pie, the other factor that really struck me was how the question was delivered: via Facebook. Social networking and food safety might seem unlikely companions (You can almost see the conversations: “Did you hear that Janie broke up with Rick right after Peanut Corp. of America recalled all that peanut butter?”) but, increasingly, food safety advocates are using it to get the word out to the public.

The new, consumer-friendly site Foodsafety.gov regularly tweets updates at Twitter and posts food recalls from the United States Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration. The USDA deals with meat, poultry, and eggs, while the FDA handles pretty much everything else. The newsier, privately funded Foodsafetynews.com posts numerous stories everyday about food safety issues and can also be found on Twitter (A quick disclaimer: I am a contributor to Food Safety News).

Social networking, despite its shortcomings, is a fast way to get important information to people who need it. It can also lead to information overkill, but if you’re truly interested in a topic – and food safety ranks right up there with cooking as far as I’m concerned – it’s a great way to stay on top of things without having to plow through pages of text online.

Oh, and that moose-meat shepherd’s pie? I told Tracy that she’d have to reheat the dish to 165 degrees and hold it at that temperature for about 20 minutes. Not exactly a nice way to treat a shepherd’s pie; the safer alternative was to simply scrap it, which she – heartbroken – did. To be safe, the pie would have had to have been cooled to 41 degrees or less in within two hours and then refrigerated (You can also find a full list of recommended temperatures at Foodsafety.gov). Sorry, Tracy.