Picnic Food Safety Rules

Play It Safe

• Keep cold food cold. Transport food in a cooler in your air-conditioned car, not the trunk (it can reach over 150 F in there!) Choose an insulated cooler and add ice packs in necessary. At the picnic site, put the cooler in the shade and avoid opening it as much as possible.


• When serving chicken, egg or cold meat salads (or any recipes calling for mayonnaise), keep it cold until it's time to eat.


• Discard food that has been out of the refrigerator for four hours or more or out of the cooler for an hour or more.


• Common picnic foods -- such as potato or macaroni salads, sandwich fillings, hamburger patties and cut watermelon -- often receive a lot of handling during preparation. Handling increases the risk of contamination with harmful bacteria. So, wash hands and use clean utensils and containers to cut down on bacteria growth.


• Whether cooking indoors or outside on a grill at the picnic site, meat and poultry must be cooked thoroughly to ensure that harmful bacteria are destroyed.


• Use a meat thermometer to make sure that the meat has reached a safe internal temperature. Color and feel are not accurate ways to check doneness. Make sure the thermometer isn't touching any bone, as this could give a false reading. How hot should it be? A general rule of thumb is at least 145F for beef, 180°F for chicken and 160F for pork with a 10 minute rest period or until the center is no longer pink and juices run clear.


• Don't partially grill meat to use later. Once you begin cooking meat by any method, cook until it is completely done.


• Make sure your grill is hot before placing meat on it. Allow about 10 minutes for a gas grill to heat up and about 30 to 40 minutes if you are using charcoal briquettes.


• Plates, bowls, or utensils that touch raw meat should not be used once meat is cooked. Always use clean plates and utensils for serving.


• Keep foods covered to prevent contamination by insects. Many insects can carry harmful bacteria and viruses on their bodies.