Summertime offers many opportunities for eating outdoors, which means you need a refresher course on proper summer food safety tips. If you are not careful, road trips, picnics and barbecues can be a set-up for food poisoning. But, with an awareness of what kinds of foods can stay out and for how long, you can plan your summer events without worry.
Keep Cold Food Cold
Keeping cold food cold is one of the most basic and most important rules. Perishable foods, including meats, chicken, dishes containing eggs and dairy products or mayonnaise-based dishes such as potato salad and macaroni salad, need to be kept thoroughly chilled. These types of foods need to be kept at 40* or below.
If you are eating outdoors, prepare a cooler, and pack plenty of ice in and around perishable foods. Consider using block ice rather than cubes since it lasts longer. Make sure food put into the cooler has plenty of time to chill thoroughly in the refrigerator.
Remember the Two-Hour Rule
After putting out your hamburgers, hotdogs, grilled steaks and all those delicious cold salads and deviled eggs, start enjoying. Leisurely meals around the picnic table are the perfect way to spend a summer afternoon, but watch the clock. Perishable foods shouldn't be left out for longer than two hours. After that, food needs to be put back into the coolers. If the temperature is above 90 degrees, plan on leaving food out for only an hour.
Take Along Non-Perishable Food
When going to the park with the kids or hiking up a mountain trail, it may not be practical to carry around a large cooler full of ice and food. If you are planning for this situation, choose foods that do not spoil in the heat. A long hike is not the place for an egg salad sandwich, but a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is perfect. Crackers, nuts, trail mix, cookies, pretzels, carrot sticks and peanut butter are other nonperishable foods that go well on day trips.
Other Tips and Tricks
To keep your cold food cold, you want to open the cooler as little as possible. One way you can do this is to have a separate cooler for drinks. Coolers containing drinks are opened most often, so keeping it separate from the cooler with the food prevents loss of ice. Consider placing uncooked meat into a smaller separate cooler as well. This way, bacteria that can be on uncooked meat is not in danger of contaminating other foods if the package leaks.
Cleanliness is also important for summer food safety. Wash your hands, and work in a clean place when preparing food. Take along antibacterial hand cleanser, and wash hands often, especially when handling raw meat. Something as simple as keeping your hands clean when preparing foods can go a long way toward being safe.
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