Picnic Safety

Memorial Day often sees many picnic goers. I love a good picnic they are so fun. The one thing I do not like is getting sick because the food was not properly taken care of. Picnic food is no different than any other food it must be taken care of safely. Some good ways to ensure you do this is:

A few more things you may want to bring along with you are wet wipes, disposable wash clothes or moist towelettes, paper towels for cleaning hands and surfaces.  Keep hands clean before and after handling food, not using the same platter and utensils for raw and cooked meat and poultry. Having 2 sets of utensils for cooking and a separate set for serving is a good idea.



Keeping hot food hot and cold food cold is harder to do when on a picnic. It should be done so that no one gets sick and the good times roll on. Unsafe temperatures of food is leading reason for food borne illness. Coolers should be placed in the shade whenever possible. Food should never be out of cooler or off grill more than 2 hours and if the temperature is above 90 degrees the time cuts to 1 hour.

Hamburger patties, hotdogs,  lunch meat or chicken should be packed in a insulated cooler that is packed with plenty of ice or frozen gel packs. Raw meat and poultry should be wrapped securely to prevent cross contamination of the prepared foods. The cooler should not be packed until ready to leave the house.

Take out food like fried chicken, barbecue or other meals will offer their own issues. Meals such as these will need to be ate within 2 hours of purchase.