Freegan cooking with Jane Velez-Mitchell

Remember a few weeks ago when Jane Velez-Mitchell went dumpster diving? She hit the streets of New York City with a group of freegans to rescue food thrown out by stores and restaurants. Well, she wasn't kidding when she said she planned on eating the food she found discarded in the trash!

Jane found tons of great, fresh food in the garbage. She then cleaned it thoroughly and prepared a delicious freegan meal. Her freegan friends claim that food rescued from the trash is perfectly safe and edible if cleaned and cooked properly. They enjoy their lifestyle because it allows them to save money and help reduce waste.

Dr. Jennifer Shu, co-author of "Food Fights" tells us, "Freegans are taking a big chance on eating food out of dumpsters. Just because something looks safe doesn't mean that it is. Looks can be deceiving. Bacteria can quickly multiply on perishable food, and you can get extremely ill. You don't know how long something has been sitting out, or how long it's been in the garbage."

Freegan cuisine certainly is risky, but freegans say those risks can pay off.

This is certainly the most interesting cooking show you'll see all year!

For more of Jane's Adventures tune into Jane Velez-Mitchell  weeknights at 7 p.m. ET on HLN.