Health and Wellness
Play by the tailgate rules
Tailgating can be tons of fun as long as you observe the rules of the game. Nobody wants to spoil the party by inviting bacteria.
"The biggest food-safety issues at tailgates arise from the fact that you are moving food from one location to another," said Renee Boyer, consumer food-safety specialist for Virginia Cooperative Extension.
The winning rules
- Pack meats and other raw items in sealed plastic bags or containers in a chilled, insulated cooler kept below 40 degrees. Separate raw foods (the chicken and burgers) from ready-to-eat foods (potato salad, cut-up veggies).
- Store chilled drinks in a different cooler away from the food. You open this cooler more often.
- Use a meat thermometer. To be safe, ground beef and chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
- Bring a hand sanitizer or a bleach solution. Be sure to wash your hands before and after you prepare the food.
- Remove meat from the cooler only when you wish to place it on the grill. Then throw out leftover marinade. Never put cooked meat back in the container with raw meat. Use separate cutting boards to prevent cross-contamination between raw and cooked foods.
- When removing cooked items from the grill, use a clean pair of tongs that have not come into contact with raw foods.
- Eat cooked foods immediately or keep at a temperature of 140 degrees or hotter until served. Wrapping a hot item in aluminum foil will help keep it warm.
- Eat deli salads within two hours after removing from the cooler.
Used with permission from www.health-eheadlines.com, © 2007 Write On, Inc.
