Food Safety Reminders for a Fabulous Fourth

Roberta ShaferJun 28, 2021

Hello! Welcome to my first blog about Food Safety. I invite you to join me weekly to discuss food safety topics that affect all of us, from food handling to timely topics within the food industry. My aim is to explain how you can safely prepare the food you serve to others, no matter if you are the family chef, work in a food truck, or have a small café, restaurant, or processing facility, without a lot of scientific speak, but it will be backed by science. But first I would like to tell you a little about myself. My name is Roberta and I have worked in the food industry since 2003. I have experience in processing of raw meat and poultry, ready to eat and further processed items. Food Safety and Quality auditing, the creation of food safety plans, and have ensured compliance to those plans. Auditing has also been a big part of my career, and I have worked with various companies over the years in approving suppliers and ensuring that companies that purchased products had the information they needed.

It is important to me that people understand how to prepare, store, transport and serve food safely. While at times it seems that it should just be common sense, but unbelievably, there are people who struggle to cook chicken safely. I hope this blog will help people understand more about the food they eat, how it is prepared and what is being done by the food industry to ensure that the food we buy is prepared and packaged safely. It is everyone’s job to ensure that food is safe.

Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.com

So, with the Fourth of July approaching quickly, it conjures up images of family gatherings, fireworks, and the picnics and barbeques that are ubiquitous in backyards everywhere. Fried chicken, steaks, hamburgers, and hot dogs are staples on the menus of gatherings all over the country. It is a good time to remind ourselves that we need to be cognizant of making sure that we do not forget the fundamental rules of food safety. No one wants to spend a long weekend being ill when they can be out having a good time with friends, relatives, and neighbors.

The first rule that we should remind ourselves of is that we should make sure our areas that we prepare and serve food are clean. This includes making sure that we wash our hands, making sure that we wash them thoroughly, including under one’s nails. With Covid -19 preventions in place, this should have become second nature! Making sure that counter tops, tables, dishes, and utensils are clean go a long way to ensuring that we are getting started in the right direction. It is a good practice to clean before you start, during preparation and when you are finished. It is also important to use disinfectant wipes, dish detergent with bleach or a quart of water that has had a teaspoon of sodium hypochlorite (chlorine bleach) added. This prevents bacteria from getting into the food and multiplying. Make sure that you clean utensils with soap and water and do not use the same spoon or fork in multiple dishes .

Cross contamination is usually something that happens inadvertently and is why it is important to frequently clean while prepping food. Cross contaminating raw foods with cooked foods can happen if you are preparing foods that are fully cooked or ready to eat while preparing other raw foods. Bacteria can not be seen, so it is very likely that you would never know that the food has been exposed. Salmonella from raw chicken can accidentally be transferred to other foods, so it important that raw poultry not be washed in a sink of running water. Droplets of water that have Salmonella in them can easily contaminate surfaces and utensils nearby. Therefore, preparing raw foods away from fully cooked foods and making sure separate plates and utensils are used is important.

The next item that we shall visit is very important. If cold food is to be served, it should remain cold. Bacteria multiply exponentially in temperatures between 40°F and 140°F (1). Any dish that contains eggs or mayonnaise are especially vulnerable to bacterial growth. Keeping foods in the refrigerator until serving is ideal and refrigerating leftovers should be done in less than two hours. While serving, temperatures can easily be maintained by placing your bowl of potato salad, coleslaw, or other dishes into another larger bowl of ice. Coolers of various sizes can also be used, and they come in a variety of makes and models, from the simple plastic coolers that are filled with ice to the more sophisticated refrigerated coolers that can be plugged in to an outlet, or the into an outlet in one’s vehicle. Clean milk cartons can also be filled with water and frozen to create ice blocks that will keep food cool, while also keeping water from seeping into the food. If you are traveling with a cooler, make sure that it is kept covered with blankets or beach towels while in your vehicle. This minimizes the heat transfer from the outside of your cooler to the inside. Once at your destination, move the cooler from your car to indoors or a shady area. Ideally, keeping drinks in a separate cooler will also minimize opening the cooler, which allows the cool air to escape and introduces bacteria from the environment.

Grilling or smoking is the next chapter in making sure that you are being safe with your meals. Always use a food thermometer that is inserted into the thickest part of the meat. In the case of burgers, be them beef, pork, or poultry, insert the food thermometer into the side of the patty. This will ensure that the thermometer reaches the thickest, coldest portion of the patty. Never assume that if meat is browned and looks cooked, that it is safe. Always use a thermometer to make sure that meat is thoroughly cooked. This means making sure that the internal temperature reaches 140°F for chops, steaks, ribs, and roasts. For burgers (except for poultry) or mechanically tenderized meats, 160°F needs to be achieved. For poultry, 165°F is necessary. (2)

Making sure that the food stays covered is especially important. This will keep dust, debris, and flies from landing on your food. Flies carry many types of bacteria that can cause food-borne illness. When putting leftover food away, or making plates for your guests to take home, remember to put the leftovers into smaller containers and store them in the refrigerator or in ice until time for your guests to depart. The smaller containers allow warm foods to cool down quickly, thereby stopping bacterial growth.

This 4^th of July, please observe safe handling practices that you or your loved ones do not become someone who will experience a food borne illness this year. To learn more about food safety, make sure to check out the USDA’s website which can be found at https://www.fsis.usda.gov/. I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable holiday, and if you have questions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send me an e-mail and I will do my best to answer them.