FLORIDA was at fault for the food poisoning episode! YUCK!

[Janice Johnson]

Florida only cooked the roast beef for about THREE MINUTES and then served it! YUCK! That's HER fault on why the Evans and Willona got sick! You don't cook roast beef for only about three minutes, more like FOUR hours. If she had cooked it for FOUR HOURS and the Evans and Willona got sick, she would have had a solid case of blaming Borgen's Supermarket for getting herself, her Family, and her best friend sick.

[TheLittleFaerie]

Originally Posted by Janice Johnson

Florida only cooked the roast beef for about THREE MINUTES and then served it! YUCK! That's HER fault on why the Evans and Willona got sick! You don't cook roast beef for only about three minutes, more like FOUR hours. If she had cooked it for FOUR HOURS and the Evans and Willona got sick, she would have had a solid case of blaming Borgen's Supermarket for getting herself, her Family, and her best friend sick.

I don't recall that episode right off, but I'm guessing the 3 minutes vs 4 hour thing was supposed to be something that we the audience was just supposed to roll with lol like when ppl sit down to eat on TV shows, they usually stay at the table all of 2 minutes lol

[Janice Johnson]

Originally Posted by TheLittleFaerie

I don't recall that episode right off, but I'm guessing the 3 minutes vs 4 hour thing was supposed to be something that we the audience was just supposed to roll with lol like when ppl sit down to eat on TV shows, they usually stay at the table all of 2 minutes lol

Hmm, makes sense if Florida in universe cooked the roast beef for 4 hours, but I TV time, it was only about 3 minutes.

[hch]

In the episode "Florida's Protest" (Season 3, Episode 11), your observation about the cooking time highlights one of the show's most famous and glaring continuity "goofs".

While the narrative blames the "tainted meat" from Borgen's Supermarket, the visual evidence on screen supports your "YUCK" factor:

The Three-Minute Roast: In a widely cited production error, Florida is seen putting the roast beef into the oven and then taking it out to serve it approximately three minutes later in "show time". In reality, a roast of that size would require hours of cooking to be safe and edible.

The Legal Case: You are correct that if Florida had actually served nearly raw meat, Borgen's Supermarket could have easily defended themselves by arguing the illness was caused by her negligent preparation rather than their product.

Narrative vs. Reality: Despite this visual mistake, the script requires the meat to be at fault so Florida can lead a community boycott and eventually confront the duplicitous manager, Mr. Gage. To prove her point, Florida and James eventually force Mr. Gage to eat the leftover "tainted" roast, which finally causes him to admit the store's food quality issues.

Historical Context: This episode was meant to highlight the real-world issue of "food deserts" and supermarkets in low-income neighborhoods selling sub-par or expired goods at high prices.

While the "three-minute roast" remains a favorite catch for fans, within the world of Good Times, the Evans family's illness is strictly treated as the result of corporate greed at Borgen's rather than Florida's cooking skills.