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Health & Fitness

Keep Your Food Fresh and Your Guests Happy & Healthy This 4th of July (and All Summer Long!)

The smell of barbecue on the grill, happy picnics with family and friends, pool parties with hamburgers, fresh veggies and delicious fruit and colorful fireworks all evoke the essence of summer and true Americana. We dream about it all year long and rejoice when the season of sunshine and outdoors has finally arrived…summer!

Before you gear up for your plethora of summer festivities, let’s talk about food safety during the summer. Not to be a buzzkill, but no one wants foodborne illness to ruin their parties and summer fun. Did you know that the summer months tend to see a larger increase of food poisoning because the warm temperatures cause bacteria to multiply faster? According to new research just released by the International Food Information Council (IFIC), nearly two-thirds of Americans are not using a food thermometer regularly to check the temperature of meat and poultry.

The easiest way to avoid foodborne illness is to follow the USDA’s Guidelines on Four Steps to Food Safety: Clean, Separate, Cook and Chill. They have teamed up with the Ad Council to spread awareness of the increased occurrence of bacteria and bacteria growth during summer months which lead to foodborne illness.

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Clean-

Dirty hands are the biggest culprit for germs, so be sure to wash your hands every time you touch your kids, the dog, anything!  Also remember to use clean cutting boards and to clean utensils and countertops. If you’re going camping and won’t have a source for clean water, bring water for washing hands and food preparation surfaces. Moist towelettes and disposable washcloths are other good options.

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Separate-

Cross-contamination during preparation, grilling and serving food can also contribute to foodborne illness. If you’re packing a cooler for an outing, wrap raw meats securely to keep their juices from coming in contact with ready-to-eat food. Wash plates, utensils and cutting boards that held raw meat or poultry before using again for perishable or cooked food. Don’t put your cooked grilled items back on the unwashed plate used when they were raw!

Cook –

Cook all meat and poultry to safe temperatures: ground beef should be cooked to 160 °F, all poultry should be cooked to 165 °F and steaks should be cooked to 145 °F. Be sure to bring a food thermometer to your outing and check the temperature of the meat or poultry by inserting it into the thickest portion. Once food is cooked or reheated, keep it hot, at or above 140 °F and never let food sit at room temperature for more than two hours.

Chill-

Keeping cold food cold in the summer is crucial. Both raw and cooked meat, poultry and  cold foods  need to be kept cold, 40 °F or below, –both in the refrigerator and on the serving table (remember, they can’t be left at room temperature for more than two hours , one hour for temperatures 90°F and above). Cold perishables like luncheon meats or potato salad should be kept on ice or in an insulated cooler packed with ice or ice packs.

When all your guests have eaten, chill leftovers promptly in shallow containers and discard any food that’s been left out for more than two hours (or one hour if the temperature is 90°F and above)

If you have questions about preventing food poisoning and how to keep your family safe this 4th of July and all summer, check out the free resources on FoodSafety.gov. The online database, Ask Karen, has answers to nearly 1,500 questions related to foodborne illness.  You can also call the USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday. Both are available in English and Spanish. 

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