“I cooked this food then left it out in the sun - is it safe to eat now?” threads should be treated the same way as requests for medical advice.
Respondents are generally unqualified to answer and don’t have access to the full facts to answer properly.
In general, the quality of advice is poor, reckless and misleading. If people can’t ask “will this chest pain kill me?”, they shouldn’t be asking “will this food kill me?”
Sure.
And?
and (I propose) such threads:
Is it true that mayo goes bad really quickly? I get mayo on my meatball subs and I left one out overnight…
It still tasted good. That means it’s fine, right?
And how are requests for medical advice treated? You’re gonna kick yourself when you answer this.
Precisely. No.
You should answer my other question. 
Sure. As I understand it, Mayo on its own doesn’t present a particularly benign environment for the rapid reproduction of foodborne pathogens, however, when mixed with other foods, this may not hold true.
It’s not a problem to discuss principles (and this is also true of factual discussions of medical procedures, I think).
The problem happens when someone asks, for example: “I left this chicken soup in the sun all day, can I safely eat it?”, and someone else replies “If it smells good, it will be OK”, which is simply incorrect.
I think that’s a similar category of problem as asking (here): “I have a crushing pain in my chest - could it be a heart problem?”
It is. You’re missing the point of my question. You said that food questions should be treated the same as medical questions. How are medical questions treated?
I’m not missing your point - I think you’re missing mine: Technical / factual questions about medical procedures are entertained. Questions about whether this pustule looks infected are prohibited.
I propose that the same approach be taken regarding questions of food safety, to wit: “Why does beef jerky keep for so long without going bad?” is a factual question, “should still eat this chicken?” is a request for advice.
Actually I didn’t. I said that questions asking for advice about a specific food safety incident should be treated the same as requests for medical advice. ‘food questions’ is a broader category than the issue that concerns me here.
Although that said, I would not disagree with the statement: “Food questions should be treated the same as medical questions”, because a similar spectrum of possible questions exists, and a similar spectrum of permissibility should apply.
I picked a cherry tomato on my terrace this morning, and it took me 12 seconds to carry it into the kitchen and rinse it off in lukewarm tap water–is it safe for me put it in a salad, or do I have to had eaten it as soon as it came off the vine? Need answer fast.
Factual questions go in GQ. Questions seeking advice go in IMHO.
ETA: That prohibition is no longer absolute. The new policy is as above.
We do expect that people will use some common sense.
Nope. You were missing mine all along. Soliciting medical advice is not prohibited.
Yes it is. The generic answer is, “See your doctor.” And then the thread is locked.
I wish I could post a picture of Watto saying “No, it isn’t!”
Also, no, it isn’t.
Here, just to settle the issue, I have cites!
Colibri unstickied this thread because the OP no longer accurately describes board policy regarding medical/legal advice.
Here Ed Zotti clarifies the policy:
And in this very thread we got a ruling from twickster:
I have this crushing pain in my chest. Would Aspirin, Tylenol, or Advil be better for getting rid of it?
:D:D
Gargle peroxide. You’ll be fine.