Oregon State University Extension Service is expanding its food safety and preservation helpline. The helpline, which opened for the season on July 6, is staffed with certified Master Food Preserver volunteers in more counties to answer questions from home food preservers.
The toll-free helpline, 800-354-7319, is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, except for Labor Day. After Oct. 9, the helpline will remain open and will be checked weekly for voice messages. In 2025, the volunteers fielded 709 calls.
“Oregonians are fortunate to have so many wonderful foods that are grown or gathered in our state. But safely preserving foods is a science and an art, and it can be potentially dangerous if not done properly,” said Jared Hibbard-Swanson, food security and safety program manager at OSU Extension. “The OSU helpline has volunteers in all regions of the state who can troubleshoot your preservation project or give you ideas for new methods to store the food you gather, hunt or grow.”
The helpline has grown this year, with volunteers from 14 Oregon counties supporting the service, up from eight counties last year. Participating counties include Benton, Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Deschutes, Douglas, Jackson, Jefferson, Josephine, Lane, Linn, Marion, Wheeler and Yamhill.
Most commonly, helpline callers ask about recipes for canned salsa and fruits, mushy pickles and where to get a pressure canner gauge checked. OSU Extension offers these publications: Salsa Recipes for Canning, Canning Seafood, Canning tomatoes and tomato products and Use, Care and Operation of Your Pressure Canner.
Additional publications and fact sheets are available on the OSU Extension website.
Launched 1980 in Lane County, the Master Food Preserver Program has grown to include more than 300 Master Food Preservers who complete an eight-week course to become certified, volunteer on the helpline and host workshops and information booths at fairs and farmers markets.
Ask Extension, an online question-and-answer service, is another way to get information. Extension experts can offer information about anything related to food preservation – from safety concerns to recipes – and strive to respond within two business days.
Additionally, several Extension offices offer free pressure canner dial gauge testing. Helpline volunteers can provide information specific to a county.
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