Nutrition Tips

Picnic Food Safety Tips

Susette M. Gjovik, MA, RD, LN, CNSD
Registered Dietitian, Licensed Nutritionist

The summer months mark the beginning of outdoor gatherings with friends and family. Keeping food safety in mind while preparing, transporting and setting it up at the picnic will help prevent food borne illnesses. Tips to plan, prepare and serve food at a picnic or outdoor gathering:

• Wash your hands
  
  • Helps keep bacteria and germs from entering food.
  • Check the picnic site for a washroom with soap and water. If it doesn't have one, bring a large container of water, soap and paper towels.
  • Wash hands often, especially after handling raw foods like meat, playing outdoor games, touching animals/pets, after using the restroom and any time your hands get dirty.
• Avoid food cross contamination
  • Bring along plenty of disposable plates and utensils.
  • Use different plates for raw and cooked meat.
  • Always wash hands after touching raw meat. Make sure not to touch raw meat, then touch other foods that don't require cooking (salads or fruit) before washing your hands.
  • Store raw meat separately from foods like salads to prevent meat juices from dripping on foods you won't cook.
  • Wash the skins of fruit (melons) under running tap water, using a vegetable brush to remove visible debris. This keeps any bacteria on the outside from transferring to the edible fruit when you cut it.
• Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold
  The "danger zone" is a range of temperatures where bacteria can thrive and grow. This zone includes temperatures between 40° F and 140° F.
  • Keep cold food colder than 40° F.
  • Keep hot food hotter than 140° F.
  • The internal temperature of meat varies depending on the type.
    • Cook chicken breasts to 170° F, hamburger and pork to 160° F.
    • Use a meat thermometer to help determine when food reaches safe temperatures.
    • When grilling meat, only take out what will fit on the grill. Keep the rest in the cooler until ready to cook.
  • When transporting food, use insulated coolers with a lot of ice or frozen ice gel packs.
    • Put coolers inside the air-conditioned vehicle rather than the hot trunk while transporting.
    • On site, place coolers in the shade and cover with a blanket. Place beverages in a separate cooler because it's opened more frequently-opening and closing the cooler changes the inside temperature.
• Clean Up
  • After eating, promptly return cold food to the cooler, replenishing the ice as needed and draining off any melted ice. Food sitting out for an hour at temperatures of 90° F or warmer has the potential to grow bacteria, and you should not eat the leftovers.
  • Cool hot foods by separating the food into several pans. Avoid filling the pan to the brim. Surrounding the pan with ice or frozen gel packs will also help the food cool properly.
• Enjoy and have fun! Following these simple, yet necessary, tips can help ensure that your food will be safe to eat. For more information on food safety refer to the  U.S. Food and Drug Administration food safety website.

References: U. S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition website and  American Dietetic Association "Home Food Safety: It's in Your Hands".