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Barbecue season has arrived and with it comes fun, conversation, and men fighting over how to best arrange charcoal. What doesn’t belong in this social and culinary mix are little pests with big consequences such as Salmonella. Every year people get sick from infamous sat-in-the-sun-too-long potato salad and other picnic mishaps even though simple steps can prevent most food-borne illnesses. Often times, people prepare food safely in their homes but then expose it to improper temperatures, grubby hands and soiled utensils once it gets outdoors. What can be done? First of all, set up a makeshift hand-hygiene station outdoors, complete with a water jug, soap, and a roll of paper towels. And if that’s too much trouble, provide disposable alcohol wipes or a bottle of liquid hand sanitizer instead. These items should be in clear view and everyone should be encouraged to use them. The host risks looking like a germ freak, but it’s better to be accused of germ sensitivity today than to receive complaints of food poisoning tomorrow. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition offers the following tips for preparing and transporting food: -Keep cold food at less than 40 degrees in a cooler with ice or gel packs. -Store raw meat, poultry, and seafood in sealed containers away from all other foodstuffs. -Scrub produce with a soft brush under running tap water and then dry it with a paper or cloth towel. -Store coolers in the passenger section of a car, not the trunk. This will help keep the food cold. -Do not reuse marinade that touched raw meat, poultry or seafood. -Do not reuse dishes and utensils that have touched raw meat, poultry or seafood until they are washed thoroughly with soap and hot water. -Use a food thermometer to gauge the temperature of every piece of meat on the grill. The following temperatures should be achieved (all are Fahrenheit): Beef and lamb cuts: 145 degrees for medium rare, 160 degrees for medium, and 170 degrees for well done Ground pork and ground beef: 160 degrees Ground poultry: 165 degrees Poultry breasts: 170 degrees Fish: 145 degrees or until flesh separates easily Clams, oysters, and mussels should be cooked until their shells open. Crab, lobster and shrimp should be cooked until pearly and opaque. Generally, perishable food should only be kept out for two hours, and for only one hour if the temperature around the food (either in a house or outside) climbs past 90 degrees. Hot food should be kept above 140 degrees in insulated containers, while cold foods such as salads and desserts can sit in bowls directly over ice. The most dangerous zone is when food is room temperature or warm, since this is the perfect environment for bacterial growth. Several people cook food partially on a range, in a microwave or an oven to reduce grill time later — which is an efficient method — but they often let the food cool to dangerous levels before they grill it. The simple solution: grill the items immediately after precooking them. After all this is taken care of, the only other step to enjoy your picnic or barbecue is to sit back and enjoy your picnic or barbecue. Bon appetit!
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