July 4, 2006
Food-Safety Concerns Heat Up With the Weather
By Gwen Schoen
Sacramento Bee
You should always be aware of food sanitation and safe handling, but it is
especially important if you are heading outdoors for a barbecue or a picnic.
"Food will be exposed to more bacteria and warm temperatures, and that
combination can turn the party into a problem," says Shelley Feist,
executive director of Fight Bac Partnership for Food Safety Education
(www.fightbac.org). Fight Bac's mantra: clean, separate, cook and chill.
Feist's most important advice: "When in doubt, throw it out."
Another crucial tip: Keep your hands clean. Wash them with warm water and
plenty of soap. A quick rinse under tap water isn't enough. Lather up your
hands and hum the "Happy Birthday" song twice through while you wash your
hands.
"Wash your hands with soap and warm water," she says. "Dirty hands are
usually the major culprit when people get sick from food-borne illness. If
clean, warm water won't be available, we recommend taking extra water for
washing hands."
Keep raw meat separate from other food. "We recommend using different
cutting boards for raw meat, or at least wash it with hot, soapy water
between uses," Feist says. "Use a clean knife. Use a clean plate when taking
foods off of the grill, and wash your hands thoroughly after handling raw
meat. When packing the ice chest, make sure raw meat is wrapped tightly, and
pack it in the bottom of the chest just in case any juice drips out of the
package."
Use an instant-read thermometer when cooking meat and make sure it reaches
safe temperatures.
"With hamburger, that means cooking it to an internal temperature of 160
degrees," Feist says. "Recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture changed
its recommendation for poultry. They now recommend that it be cooked to an
internal temperature of 165 degrees. For most people, poultry isn't
appetizing when cooked to that doneness, but it is now considered safe."
As for keeping foods cold, Feist says that, in general, the two-hour rule
applies. That is, foods should not be kept between 40 degrees and 140
degrees longer than two hours.
"However, when you are outdoors and the temperature is 90 degrees or higher,
we recommend that you not leave perishables out of the ice chest any longer
than an hour," she says. "Pack plenty of ice in the ice chest. A lot of
people tend to be in and out of the ice chest for beverages, so, if
possible, pack the food in one chest and the drinks in another one. That way
the food will stay at a more constant temperature."
When people get sick and suspect it's from something they've eaten, they
often blame the mayonnaise. In fact, it's rare for mayonnaise to cause
illness, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and
Inspection Service. Commercial mayonnaise is made with vinegar or lemon
juice, which is an acid ingredient. The acid tends to prevent bacterial
growth.
More often, the illness is caused by the meat, poultry or eggs left
unrefrigerated and consumed with the mayonnaise, or cross-contamination from
raw meat or unclean fruit. The myth that mayonnaise causes illness comes
from the years when people used homemade mayonnaise made with raw eggs and
little or no acid ingredients.
Often it's cross-contamination that causes illness, so be careful not just
when preparing a picnic, but also when handling perishable foods, raw meat
or poultry in your kitchen.
Be aware of what has come in contact with your sponge and dish towel. Don't
wipe up chicken juice with the sponge, then use the sponge to wash off the
refrigerator handle. Use your clean hand to turn off the water.
Tips on keeping food safe
Grill safety
* Marinate food in the refrigerator, not on the counter. Never use marinade
as a baste if it has been used on raw meat.
* Beef should be cooked to an internal temperature of 145 degrees for medium
rare or 160 degrees for medium. Hamburgers should always be cooked to 160
degrees.
* The U.S. Department of Agriculture now recommends that poultry be cooked
to 165 degrees internal temperature.
* Use a clean plate for cooked meat and poultry, not the same one you used
for the raw food, unless it has been washed with hot, soapy water.
Picnic safety
* When it's warm outside, food should not be left out of the cooler longer
than an hour.
* If you pack raw meat or poultry in the cooler, wrap it tightly and place
it in the bottom of the cooler so that juices don't drip on food that will
be eaten without cooking. It's best to use a separate cooler for raw meat.
* When traveling, pack the cooler inside the car, not in a trunk or a truck
bed, where it can get too warm to keep food safe. Once you get to your
picnic site, keep the cooler in the shade.
* Discard any uneaten meat or perishable food that has been left out of the
cooler for longer than an hour.
* Thoroughly rinse or scrub fresh fruits and vegetables before eating them
or slicing them to prevent bacteria on the outside of the fruit from being
transferred to the inside.
Takeout foods
* The two-hour rule applies for takeout food. Don't leave it on the kitchen
counter longer than two hours. If you need to keep it longer than that,
place it in an oven heated above 140 degrees or take it out of the package
and refrigerate it
For more tips
* www.foodsafety.gov
The Sacramento Bee's Gwen Schoen can be reached at gschoen@)sacbee.com.
Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.