Jul
20
Summer Food Safety Precautions by Mary Beth Sanchez, Registered Dietitian
Filed Under Physician & Health Articles, DuPage Medical Group News
Summertime is for picnics, cooking out and fun in the sun. It is also the time of year when risk of food-borne illness is greatest since bacteria grow most rapidly at temperatures between 70 and 120˚ F. Follow these careful food preparation and serving practices to significantly reduce risk of illness from bacterial pathogens that cause food-borne diseases. Safe food practices begin in the kitchen.
Keeping food safe in the kitchen
- Keep refrigerator temperatures at 40˚ F or below; several illness causing bacteria thrive at temperatures between 40 and 50˚ F. Check refrigerator temperatures with a thermometer.
- Thaw frozen food in the refrigerator, in cold water or in the microwave, not on the counter. Refrigeration and freezing slow bacterial growth, but do not kill the bacteria. Once frozen foods thaw to room temperature, bacteria can continue to thrive.
- Wash hands, kitchen surfaces and utensils with hot soapy water before and after preparing food-especially when using eggs, poultry and meat.
- Marinate food in the refrigerator, not at room temperature.
- Keep hot foods above 140˚ F and cold foods below 40˚ F. Don’t allow foods to sit at room temperature for more than two hours.
Packing foods for summer outings
- Take only the amounts of food that will be used.
- Always use an insulated cooler to keep cold foods cold.
- Bring one cooler for food and a separate cooler for beverages and extra ice. If foods and beverages are packed together, repeated opening of the cooler will result in loss of cool temperatures.
- Block ice, freezer packs and frozen water bottles can be placed in the cooler to keep contents chilled.
- Pack directly from the refrigerator or freezer in reverse- use order: Foods packed first are the last to be used.
- Securely wrap or bag foods that may drip or leak, especially meat, poultry and fish. This will prevent raw juices from touching and contaminating ready-to-eat foods.
- Keep hot foods hot (above 140˚) with a thermos or insulated dish.
- Take hand sanitizer or moist towelettes along to wash hands before handling food.
- Because temperatures in the trunk of a car can become very warm in summer, place coolers in the passenger area.
- At the picnic site place the cooler in the shade, covered with a blanket to maintain cold temperatures in the cooler; avoid opening it repeatedly.
- Replenish ice
Grilling
- Keep food cold until the grill is hot.
- Cook food completely.
- Cook food completely at the picnic site; avoid partial cooking ahead of time.
- Cook foods thoroughly; only heating foods to a high enough internal temperature can kill bacteria. Meat and poultry should not be pink, juices should be clear; fish should flake with a fork.
- Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of meats:
Beef 160˚
Pork: 170˚
Lamb or Poultry 180˚ - Be careful that raw meat, poultry or fish juices do not touch other foods.
- Use clean plates and utensils for serving cooked food.
Serving
- In hot weather (85˚ and above) food should never sit out for more than one hour.
- Serving dishes should contain small portions; replenish using clean dishes.
- Serve foods and put them back into the cooler quickly.
Leftovers
- Put perishables back into the cooler immediately after eating.
- Perishable food left off refrigeration over 2 hours (or over 1 hour when it’s < 85˚ F are not safe and should be discarded. If perishables were on ice except during cooking and serving, and you were gone no more than 4 to 5 hours you should be able to save the leftovers if there is still ice in the cooler or your freezer pack is still solid.
Food-borne illness does not have to spoil summertime fun. When a cooler is not available pack a picnic basket with foods which do not require refrigeration such as: fresh or dried fruits, vegetables, hard cheese, canned or dried meats or fish, peanut butter, breads, crackers or dry cereal. Following food safety precautions when preparing packing, transporting, cooking and serving foods for summer outings will ensure less risk of illness.
Mary Beth Sanchez holds a Master’s degree in Nutrition and is part of our Diabetes Care Department.