The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) is offering Memorial Day weekend food safety reminders to help keep you safe. This weekend is traditionally the start of the picnic and barbecue season, although the holiday itself is solemn.
First, remember to always wash your hands before preparing food, before eating, and before packing food for your picnic or barbecue. If water isn’t available, use disposable handwipes or hand sanitizer that contains alcohol, then dry your hands with a clean paper towel.
When packing your cooler, be sure to keep raw meats away from foods that are eaten without any more cooking, such as salads, fresh veggies and fruits, condiments, and beverages. And it’s a good idea to pack beverages in a separate cooler from perishable foods, since a beverage cooler is going to be opened much more frequently, which could raise the temperature to unsafe levels.
Remember that the danger zone for perishable food is between 40°F and 140°F. In this range, pathogens can double in number in 20 minutes. And when it’s hot outside, this temperature is even more important. Perishable foods can only be at room temperature for two hours before they must be thrown away, but when the ambient air temperature is above 90°F, that time shrinks to one hour. If the food is out for less than that period of time, you can repack them in the cooler as long as you still have plenty of ice. Remember that coolers only hold food at a safe temperature – they can’t cool food down.
Bring a food thermometer with you if you are going to grill meats. Learn the safe final internal temperatures for all meats and follow those numbers carefully. Don’t rely on the color of juices as a doneness indicator.
Use a cover for a picnic table, since those surfaces are exposed to the weather and wild animals and are probably not clean. And pack clean, soapy towelettes for cleaning surfaces and hands.
Follow these rules for good picnics and barbecues. And remember those who served our country on this day.
