What does PHF stand for?

Q: When I check the sanitation report cards of restaurants at the Health Departmen's facility rating website, I keep seeing the acronym PHF as one of the listed violations. What does PHF mean?

A: PHF is a term used by food-safety organizations to classify foods that require time-temperature control to keep them safe for human consumption. It stands for potentially hazardous foods.

The FDA has identified the following as PHFs:

* Meat (beef, pork, lamb)
* Poultry (chicken, turkey, duck)
* Fish
* Shellfish and crustaceans
* Eggs
* Milk and dairy products
* Heat-treated plant food (cooked rice, beans or vegetables)
* Baked potatoes
* Certain synthetic ingredients
* Mushrooms
* Raw sprouts
* Tofu and soy-protein foods
* Untreated garlic and oil mixtures

The restaurant or eatery that received a PHF citation probably had at least one of these foods lying around at room temperature when the inspector came by.

Bacteria that grow at room temperature are usually assumed to be killed by high heat. But if the food is not thoroughly cooked or if the dish or end-product is raw-based, then the practice of leaving PHFs out in the air could prove sickening, even lethal.

Can I reshape my eyes while sleeping?

Q: I've heard that people can wear contact lenses to bed to correct their vision. I've googled this and the results that came up were LASIK, which I know is surgery and not what I'm looking for, and something called corneal refractive therapy, which is not the term I remember hearing. What is it that I'm looking for?

A: Scan the entire page of results. You're probably referring to Ortho-K. It's short for orthokeratology, w/c is putting in contact lenses at night to reshape the cornea. According to this site, Corneal Refractive Therapy (CRT) is one of the many brand names for Ortho-K. They say you can see results after just a few weeks and it costs between $1,000 to $3,000 for both eyes.

Hey, even I learned something new!

Does Crest Whitestrip work?

Q: Do those Crest Whitestrips work or should I go to the dentist?

A: I've tried only the Classic ones and they worked well enough. If you apply the strips on your lower and upper teeth for thirty minutes twice a day, you'll start noticing a difference in just a few days. The 56 strips per box are meant to be used over 14 days.

They've also come out with Premium, Premium Plus and Supreme versions that are supposedly more potent and can do the job in a week to ten days. Regardless of which you try, I recommend you use them only on special occasions. My gut says they weaken the teeth's enamel over time.

As for going to the dentist, if you can afford to, why not? The entire whitening can be done more quickly and you have someone to ask questions to. But the dentist may also be using the so-called Crest Professional Strength or Professional Strength Supreme versions of what you can buy for yourself.