Food Safety Hot Topics
Protect your picnic with caution
LITTLE ROCK – You would be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t like a
picnic. Fresh air, blue skies and great food make for a happy time with friends
and family.
"Picnics are a great way to get away from TV and video games and have some
time to relax and enjoy the outdoors as well as each other," says Dr. Russ
Kennedy, health and aging specialist with the University of Arkansas Cooperative
Extension Service. "It also can become a groan-inducing memory if the picnic
fare you bring along becomes contaminated."
With a few precautions and some packing tips, you can avoid a food-borne
illness and ensure your family’s health. The first thing to do is determine what
food you will bring to your picnic and pack accordingly.
"Bring canned, packaged or fresh food items you can prepare at the picnic,"
Kennedy explains. "Some dishes to consider are sandwiches, chips, and fresh
fruit and vegetables. Each person can assemble their own sandwich from packaged
deli meats and cheeses, chilled condiments and bagged bread.
"Fruit such as grapes, apples and pears should be thoroughly washed before
packing and serving then cut up at the site. Vegetables such as tomatoes and
onions also should be washed before being packed. You can either eat them on a
sandwich or as a side dish."
If you want to use a park grill, take extra precautions when handling raw
meat such as ground beef and chicken.
"Pack raw beef and chicken separately. This not only means in containers that
have tight-fitting seals but also in their own cooler, away from other dishes,"
Kennedy explains. "The chance of cross-contaminating other food is high if you
carry raw and prepared food in one cooler. By packing them separately, there are
fewer opportunities for raw meat and its juices to come in contact with other
foods. That greatly reduces the chance for food-borne illness."
Be sure food is kept either at 140 degrees or above (for cooked foods such as
hamburgers or chicken) or 40 degrees or below (for deli meats, cheeses and
prepared salads). This will slow bacterial growth and inhibit any food-borne
illnesses from being contracted.
How you pack will keep your food at the proper temperatures as well.
"For cold foods, pack drinks and ice at the bottom then layer perishable
dishes like deli meat and cheese on top of that," Kennedy says. "Wrapping food
in aluminum foil will keep foods from cross-contaminating and help insulate them
to maintain the proper temperature."
Once completely packed, put the cooler in the car instead of the trunk so the
air conditioning will help maintain the temperature. Once at the picnic site,
keep the cooler in the shade and replenish the ice when it begins to melt.
When you’re ready to eat, be sure to limit the amount of time food is left in
the open. A few minutes for each person to assemble a sandwich and prepare a
salad is fine, but be sure to rewrap each dish and return to the cooler
afterward to maintain temperature.
For more information about health, safety and nutrition, visit extension's
Web site, www.uaex.edu, or contact your county extension agent. The Cooperative
Extension Service is part of the U of A Division of Agriculture.
By: Kelli Reep
For the Cooperative Extension Service
Media Contact: Lamar James
Extension Communications Specialist
U of A Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2187 or (501) 753-0207
ljames@uaex.edu
Back to Food Safety
Hot Topics
|
