Summer Food Safety Tips
Summer Picnic Safety
Picnics and BBQ’s are guaranteed fun, until people get food poisoning. Make sure food safety is a priority at all your summertime gatherings.
By Anna Hessel
Get Out and Go!
We all love a good barbecue or summer picnic, but food safety is imperative when planning these summer events. Comestibles must stay fresh, especially in the heat – food cannot safely stay out for longer than two hours at room temperature, less if it’s hotter outside or it is an item which normally is kept refrigerated or frozen. Keep food cold in coolers or take it inside to a refrigerator to stop the spread of bacteria and food borne illnesses. Wash hands frequently when preparing food. Hand sanitizer in a pinch can work but when dealing with raw meat such as chicken, actual hand washing and rinsing is extremely important. Germs can live on the skin and get into the food being prepared.
Don’t Chicken Out – Be Safe!
Never wash or rinse chicken, or meat, but chicken is the most cause for concern. Make sure to clean all utensils or surfaces that come in contact with raw meats and poultry in warm soapy water, preferably with an antibacterial dish soap. Mild bleach solutions followed by a thorough rinsing are an excellent idea. Vegetables, fish, or seafood require the same precautions. Never use the same utensils or preparation surfaces for different food types without a thorough washing in between, particularly anything used for raw poultry, pork, beef, or the like. Any cross contamination can cause food poisoning.
Clean and Green
Rinsing fruits and vegetables before consuming, even those that you peel such as bananas or oranges, is mandatory, also. Without proper washing, germ sources, as well as pesticides and other such contaminants can still end up in the part you eat. Flies, ants, and other pests that come in contact with food carry germs, and food that has been touched by insects needs to be thrown away. It’s a good idea to use see-through covers or lids, if items will be displayed outside.
Summer Food Safety Tips
Watch What You Eat
Avoid cream-based desserts – they can become very risky in the heat. Chocolate can melt quickly, also. Salads with vinegar-based dressings are much safer than those dressed in mayonnaise. Don’t leave cans or bottles of soda, iced tea, or other soft drinks in the sun, even if you are using ice with them, and juice must be kept chilled. If something says refrigerate after opening, do so immediately. Raw veggies and cut up fruits need to be kept cold. Dips can be very dangerous if left out. A little common sense goes a long way for food safety. If something looks or smells off, do not consume it. But not everything that is dangerous shows obvious signs like bad scent, taste, or look – always err on the side of caution.
A Show of (Clean) Hands…
Never touch food with unwashed hands. Do not touch your nose or eyes and then touch edibles. Always wash your hands thoroughly, lathering up with soap for at least twenty seconds, the time it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” twice (in your head will suffice). Individually wrapped desserts are best, as are individual chips and pretzels. Never double dip chips or veggies in a community bowl for any reason. This not only is a breeding ground for food borne illness but potentially diseases such as COVID and RSV, as well. Salmonella, botulism, and ptomaine poisoning can be life threatening, or cause long term illnesses. Be careful not to allow any type of chemical, cleaning products, soaps or the like get into food. A little precaution goes a long way to safety.
Break the Mold
Mold is dangerous. Trust me, I am allergic to mold, and have gone into anaphylactic shock in the past from moldy fruit I unknowingly ate. Mold often occurs on fruits, baked goods including bread (that are left out), and cheese. Trimming or removing the moldy portion of the affected food won’t cut it for sure – throw it all away. Spores can be present even if the obvious green fuzzy is gone.
Cook’s (Safe) Choice
Meat or fish need to reach an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees (180 degrees is the standard for commercial food holding) before it can be eaten. Cook everything thoroughly; al dente or undercooked food is unsafe for anyone to eat. As a rule, cook pasta for ten minutes; this will make sure it is heated completely done without making it too soft.
Take It Outside (Safely)
You can still enjoy al fresco dining while remaining safe and healthy. Garden hoses and outdoor pumps are not necessarily potable water – if you are not sure, do not drink from them. Cover community tables with a disposable plastic tablecloth in public parks after spraying the tables with a vinegar and water solution. If you use a community grill, cover the cooking surface with tin foil (makes clean up easier, too). Bring lots of ice, alcohol gel-based hand sanitizer, napkins or paper towels, and antibacterial wipes which are made for use on your person, like Wet Ones. Have trash bags along for easy clean up. Using paper plates and disposable napkins for picnics or cookouts is usually the best, and disposable drinking cups are a must. Individually wrapped utensils are also an excellent idea.
Sense and Sensibility
Use a safe sunscreen for outdoor eating but don’t touch food after applying it until you wash your hands. Use food safety apps to your advantage when planning a cookout of barbeque. Letting food rest for a short time before consuming, like meat after thorough cooking, is very different than allowing food to sit out for long periods. Reheating food that has been out longer than two hours is a sure way to get food poisoning. As the old saying goes, if you doubt it, don’t. Stay safe this summer with practical food precautions. For more information on food safety like tips and more specifics, not to mention the most recent information, see www.foodsafety.gov.
