But Keep in Mind Food Safety for Barbecues and Picnics
By Mara Posner, DO
Southwest Medical, part of Optum
It’s the traditional start of the summer vacation and travel season, a time for family getaways and flavorful barbecues and picnics.
During this time, it’s important to take precautions when it comes to safe food handling, preparation, and avoiding foodborne illnesses such as food poisoning caused by germs that can contribute to illness, hospitalizations, and deaths.[1]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that each year 48 million Americans get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die from foodborne diseases.[2]
Typical food-poisoning symptoms include vomiting, nausea, stomach cramps, diarrhea and fever, all of which may range from mild to serious and can last from a few hours to several days.[3] Health care professionals caution that certain people have an increased risk of becoming very sick from foodborne illness including pregnant women, older adults aged 65 or older, young children under five years of age and people with weakened immune systems[4]
Foodborne illnesses tend to increase during the summer months because bacteria multiply faster when it’s warm, so following food safety guidelines is especially critical for raw meats, summer salads, dairy products, fruits and vegetables, which are among the most perishable foods at cookouts.[5] To help you keep your families healthy and protect them from food poisoning, here are some general food and kitchen hygiene tips to help you safely prepare and serve your meals.[6]
- Clean everything: It is important for those preparing and handling food to frequently wash their hands before, during and after they start cooking, and to use fresh, clean plates and utensils for serving cooked food.[7]
- Do not cross-contaminate: Raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs can spread germs to ready-to-eat food unless you keep them separate.[8]
- Cook to the right temperature: The only way to tell if food is safely cooked is to use a food thermometer to make sure meat, poultry and fish are cooked to a safe internal temperature.[9] You can learn more information and view a detailed list of food and the correct cooking temperatures at Cook to a Safe Minimum Internal Temperature | FoodSafety.gov.
- Microwave food thoroughly. Follow all recommended cooking and standing times. Letting food rest for a few minutes after microwaving allows hotter areas to continue to warm cold spots and cook more completely.[10]
- Refrigerate perishable food within two hours. Keep your refrigerator at 40 degrees or below and your freezer at zero degrees or below. Refrigerate perishable food and cooked leftovers, packaging it into several clean, shallow containers. When food is left unrefrigerated for more than two hours, bacteria grow rapidly. [11] For temperatures over 90F, food should be refrigerated within an hour.[12]
- Thaw food correctly. Always thaw food in the refrigerator, in the microwave or cold water. Never thaw food on the counter since bacteria quickly multiply in food that reaches room temperature.[13]
Have fun this summer, but be mindful of food safety to help keep your family healthy.
[1]About Food Safety | Food Safety | CDC
[2]About Food Safety | Food Safety | CDC
[3]Symptoms of Food Poisoning | Food Safety | CDC
[4]People at Increased Risk for Food Poisoning | Food Safety | CDC
[5]Food Safety by Events and Seasons | FoodSafety.gov
[6]About Four Steps to Food Safety | Food Safety | CDC
[7]About Four Steps to Food Safety | Food Safety | CDC
[8]About Four Steps to Food Safety | Food Safety | CDC
[9]About Four Steps to Food Safety | Food Safety | CDC
[10]Preventing Food Poisoning | Food Safety | CDC
[11]About Four Steps to Food Safety | Food Safety | CDC
[12]About Four Steps to Food Safety | Food Safety | CDC
[13]Preventing Food Poisoning | Food Safety | CDC
