If you’re planning any canning projects this Summer and you want to keep it safe and sanitary, Oregon State University’s Extension Program has you covered.
On July 12, OSU Extension is opening their Food Preservation and Safety hotline to help people across Oregon with their food canning projects.
Nellie Oehler started the Master Food Preserver Program in 1980, and considers it important to teach canning safety.
”There’s so much misinformation out there,” Oehler said. Everybody’s doing it now, and if you don’t know what site to go to, and a lot of people think ‘oh, I know what I’m doing; if the jar is steel, that’s gonna be great,’ well, that could kill you. So people are afraid of the pressure canner, and they don’t know that they need to get the gauges tested.”
The toll-free hotline is active from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, until October 8, and is staffed by certified Master Food Preservers in Lane and Douglas counties.