Warmer Weather Means Picnic Time... Keep safe by following these tips

I love a fun summer picnic, and with all the warm weather we have had here at the beginning of spring, I thought now would be the perfect time to talk about picnic safety.  Follow these tips to ensure a safe picnic with your friends and family.  No one wants to end up in the hospital with food-borne illness.


SOME KEY AREAS TO CONSIDER:

*  As always, wash hands and work areas before preparing food - clean hands help keep bacteria from forming in food.  Always wash your hands after you sneeze, blow your nose, pet the animals and go to the restroom.

*  Plan your picnic with safe foods in mind.  Bacteria grow best between 40 and 140 degrees. Most of the food you serve at your picnic will only be safe on the table for two hours and, if the air temperature is over 90 degrees, food becomes unsafe after only one hour. Once leftovers have been on the table that long, don’t keep them -- throw them away.  Don't leave food out while you are swimming or hiking, to come back and nibble on later - This is almost a sure recipe for disaster and illness.


*  Have enough coolers with ice or frozen gel packs in which to store the perishable foods like meat, poultry, fish, eggs and salads. You want to keep the food at 40 degrees F. Pack foods right from the refrigerator into the coolers.

*  Don't put the cooler in the car trunk; Carry it inside an air-conditioned car.  The trunk of the car does not have airconditioning, so your cooler will warm up over time.  At picnics, keep the cooler in the shade and keep the lid closed. Replenish the ice if it melts.

*  Use a separate cooler for drinks, since the cooler will be opened and closed several times over the period of the picnic.  Opening and closing a cooler repeatedly allows the cool air to leave and warmer air to enter, leaving the possibility for food-borne illness.

*  Pack clean, wet, disposable cloths or moist towelettes and paper towels for cleaning hands and surfaces. Cross-contamination during preparation, grilling, and serving food is a prime cause of food borne illness.

*  Pack raw meats, poultry, or seafood on the bottom of the cooler. This will reduce the risk of them dripping on other foods. Pack coolers until they are full. A full cooler will stay cold longer than one that is partially full.

*  If you plan on getting takeout foods such as fried chicken, Eat them within an hour of pick up.

 *  Grill raw poultry until the juices run clear and there is no pink. Hamburger should not be pink in the center.  NEVER partially cook food to complete later - This can cause harmful bacteria to grow.

*  When taking food off the grill, Don't put the cooked items on the same platter which held the raw meat unless you have washed the platter in between uses, and never mix cutting surfaces for raw meats and vegetables.

*  Chances are, picnic leftovers have been sitting out for more than an hour or two. Discard these leftovers. Cold foods that were kept in a cooler that still has ice may be safe. If the ice has melted, the food should be discarded. 


Log on to http://whatscookingamerica.net/picnic.htm for more tips on picnic safety.