Get Super Bowl food safety tips from the USDA to make your party the best ever. When you are entertaining, food safety is more important than ever. And you have to consider the health issues and ages of all of the people you invited.
If you are getting takeout or having food delivered, make sure that it is quickly refrigerated or placed in the oven until your guests arrive. Pizza, chicken wings, sliders, chili and other favorites can’t stay at room temperature for more than two hours, no matter how hot they were to begin with, or bacteria will grow.
The danger zone is between 40°F to 140°F. In that zone, bacterial counts can double every 20 minutes.
And the same rule applies to chilled foods. Get them back into the fridge after two hours; that time shrinks to one hour if the ambient air temperature is above 90°F.
When you are going to refrigerate food, divide it into smaller portions and place in shallow containers so the food will cool quickly. To keep food hot, put it in a warming tray, chafing dish, or a slow cooker.
If you are preparing the food yourself, make sure you know the minimum final safe food temperatures for meats, fish, poultry, and eggs. They are 145°F for whole cuts of beef, pork, and lamb with a three minute rest time; 160°F for ground meats; 165°F for poultry and ground poultry; 160°F for eggs; 145°F for fish and shellfish; and 165°F for leftovers and casseroles. The USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline is open Monday through Friday 10:00 am to 6:00 pm at 1-888-674-6854.
And of course remember the four steps to food safety: Clean before you start cooking; separate raw meat and poultry from other foods; cook foods to a safe temperature and check that temp with a food thermometer; and chill foods promptly if you aren’t going to eat them immediately.
Have a great Super Bowl party and enjoy!
