6 Tips to Avoid Summer Food Poisoning

Summer is picnic time. Unfortunately, it is also the time of year when food poisoning incidences spike. Thanks to warmer temperatures, which can promote growth of harmful organisms, it can turn barbecues, picnics, and camping trips into a potential gastrointestinal illness.

The good news is that with a few simple precautions, you can keep yourself and your guests safe and have a memorable occasion for all the right reasons.

1. Start with clean hands, utensils, containers, and work surfaces. When preparing and packing your meal, be sure everything that encounters the food is clean. This way, you avoid giving potentially harmful bacteria growth time to grow.

2. Keep it cool. It’s best to pack in two coolers to avoid cross-contamination and to cut down how often coolers get opened, which reduces ice melt. Use one cooler for raw meat, poultry, and seafood; a second for ready-to-eat items, like deli meat and sandwiches, summer salads (avoid mayo-based salads) and drinks. You may want to label or color code your coolers to help preserve their cool environment. The more often you open a cooler, the more cold air can escape.

3. Pack lots of plates, napkins, utensils, gloves, and a meat thermometer. Discard any plate or utensil that touches raw meat, poultry, or fish once the items hit the grill. Use a meat thermometer to ensure steaks are cooked to at least 145 degrees, ground meat to 155 degrees, and poultry to 165 degrees. Serve cooked food on fresh, clean plates. 

4. Wash up. Use the picnic area’s restroom to wash your hands before eating. In addition, always wash your hands thoroughly after handling raw meat if you are unable to use gloves. If you do not have access to soap and water, use hand sanitizer.

5. Keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot. Bacteria thrives in lukewarm temperatures. Eat hot food as soon as it is ready and refrigerate leftovers as soon as everyone is served. If you can, cook in small batches to avoid having leftovers and waste. Sharing with your neighbors is also was a nice way to avoid food waste. 

6. When in doubt, throw it out. Garbage bags are an important part of the picnic packing list. Perishable food left out for more than an hour should be thrown away.

When you follow these steps, you can have confidence that the super fun picnic you planned will not come with a nasty bout of stomach upset for you or your guests. Kick up your feet and enjoy the best that summer has to offer.

Laura LaCroix is the Executive Chef at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center.