# Important Food Advice **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 16, 2005, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-food-advice/331378 "2005-11-16T20:37:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-food-advice/331378/1 "2005-11-16T20:37:05Z")
[“Remember this simple advice - if it glows, throw it.”](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4442984.stm) :eek: ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-food-advice/331378/2 "2005-11-16T22:17:38Z")
But what if it’s only glowing a little bit? Or if it still smells good? ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-food-advice/331378/3 "2005-11-16T22:21:40Z")
What if they’ve only been glowing for five seconds? ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-food-advice/331378/4 "2005-11-16T22:52:53Z")
Ah, yes, the old adage: “If it’s glowin’ you’ll be blowin’” – chunks, that is. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-food-advice/331378/5 "2005-11-16T23:05:17Z")
> [@Tapioca Dextrin](#): > > Remember this simple advice - if it glows, throw it. The scary thing is that some people need this advice. If anything is glowing in my fridge and it isn’t the lightbulb, I ain’t calling around to see if it is okay to eat. ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-food-advice/331378/6 "2005-11-16T23:16:39Z")
What if it’s meat from the magical glow-fish? Is it okay then? ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-food-advice/331378/7 "2005-11-16T23:17:57Z")
> [@chaoticbear](#): > > But what if it’s only glowing a little bit? Don’t throw it very far 😃 ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-food-advice/331378/8 "2005-11-17T00:38:47Z")
Huh. I always wondered about Dickens’s line in _A Christmas Carol_ to the effect of something “giving off a dismal glow like a bad lobster in a dark cellar”. Now I know. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-food-advice/331378/9 "2005-11-17T17:37:56Z")
> [@](#): > > Remember this simple advice - if it glows, throw it. Uh, huh. The firefly contingent is NOT gonna be happy about this… ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-food-advice/331378/10 "2005-11-17T18:16:36Z")
What’s ironic about that statement is that the bacteria themselves are not harmful at all. They’re just saying that if there’s enough bacteria for you to see a grow, there could also be harmful bacteria around. The glow itself is harmless.