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Food Info - Misc: Infused Oils Safety Tips

Source of Recipe

San Jose Mercury News
Experts don't agree on whether you need to refrigerate oil infused with herbs or other foodstuffs. If you listened to the federal and state governments you'd refrigerate everything you plan to eat, but some food scientists disagree.

George York, extension food microbiologist emeritus in the University of California, Davis food science and technology department says micro-organisms, including those that cause botulism, don't grow in oil. He says that if you are using dried herbs "you have no problem" not refrigerating an infused oil. If you use fresh herbs, the only bacteria that might grow would be harmless lactic acid bacteria. Even garlic bulbs won't cause a problem, he says.

York says that if you're still worried, drop the garlic bulb in vinegar or lemon juice overnight before putting it in oil. Likewise, you can rehydrate dried ingredients in water spiked with vinegar.

You can not preserve food in oil he says, but oil that has, for example, a few mushrooms, garlic, peppers or whatever added to it doesn't require refrigeration. That said, other food safety experts insist that chopped garlic in oil must be refrigerated to prevent dangerous organisms from growing. And recently, producers of minced or crushed garlic in jars were forced to add citric acid to their product as a preservative.