Think Safe: Have Successful Meals, Not Sickness

Modified from August 2019.

Summer is all about getting out of the house and enjoying the great outdoors.  Time outside could include picnics, fairs, parties, grilling, and all kinds of fun.  However, being outdoors with food means we need extra care around food safety. Whether you are purchasing, preparing, consuming, or storing food, it is very important to protect yourself and others from food poisoning.  Due to the hot humid weather that Western Pennsylvania enjoys, our summers can make food safety challenging.  Below are some safety tips that must be followed in order to keep food safe.

Safety Tips

It is always important to plan ahead.  Realize that if there is no place to keep food hot or cold you need to accommodate for this by taking a heat source and lots of ice and coolers.  In addition, if there is no clean running water, you may need to take your own. It’s essential to wash hands and food prep/serve surfaces often.

Refrigerate or freeze foods within 2 hours of shopping or preparing.

It is also very important that you prevent cross contamination.  This means that you use different areas of work space for raw and uncooked foods. Never put cooked foods back onto the plates or storing containers that held it when it was raw, unless you thoroughly cleaned/disinfected the surface.  When preparing foods wear gloves or be sure to wash hands, cutting boards, dishes, utensils, and work surfaces with hot, soapy water. 

Cooking food to an appropriate internal temperature can prevent food illnesses. It is the ONLY way to tell if harmful bacteria are destroyed.  If you don’t know how hot food is, use a food thermometer.  Never
partially cook food for finishing at a later time; this increases bacterial growth and can cause illnesses. 

Temperature Challenges

Transporting foods can be a challenge.  In addition, eating foods at a fair, carnival, or at an outside event can also be challenging. Keep hot food hot.  Keep cold food cold. That is very important. By keeping foods at specific temperature, bacterial growth can be halted. 

Hot foods that have already been completely cooked are required to be above 140 degrees Fahrenheit for it to be safe.  If taking food out, be sure to wrap well and place in an insulated container to avoid heat loss. 

Alternatively, cold foods need to be kept at, or below, 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Place it in ice, use commercial freezing gels, and keep in a cooler with ice.  

You can use food thermometers to be sure.

When reheating foods it is important to realize that just “warming up” food is not good enough.  Remember, foods that are being reheated need to be at 165 degrees Fahrenheit.  Bring sauces, soups, gravies, dips, and other reheated foods to a boil. 

There is a range of temperatures that bacteria love to grow in foods.  The danger zone for both hot and cold foods is 40 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit.  The temperature between is very dangerous and can cause food illnesses.  Use chafing dishes, warming trays, and slow cookers to keep food out of the danger zone. For cold foods place in ice or use coolers with ice. 

Because it isn’t possible to know how some food has been treated, or even if it is safe: WHEN IN DOUBT, THROW IT OUT!

For any further questions, or more examples, visit www.fightbac.org. This is an excellent resource for food safety guidelines. 

As you prepare for fun outdoor activities, remember you have the power to Fight Bac™ and keep your food safe.