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News
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Summertime meals are not always a picnic
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6/16/2011
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Article Content Suggested lead
Summertime means barbecues, picnics, and camping trips. It also means it's a good time to pay attention to proper food handling and preparation:
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Audio 01
A little extra precaution is a good idea during summertime when outdoor cooking and eating is a way of life in Oregon:
KENDRICK: "You really want to make sure you always wash your hands. That's just a very common vehicle for transmitting food borne illness. Watch for cross-contamination. That's another key- again, the raw meat contaminating the ready-too-eat. The third thing we really focus on is temperature control." :18
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Audio 02
Cooking meats thoroughly is important. Food safety specialist Susan Kendrick with the Oregon Department of Agriculture says there are certain summer foods potentially more hazardous than others. Raw meat is one of them. But even foods you don't cook can be problematic. Sprouts have been in the news recently, linked to a deadly E. coli outbreak in Europe:
KENDRICK: "If you are going to eat sprouts, keep them refrigerated. When you purchase them, they should be refrigerated as well. But secondly, if you are immune-compromised, it is a food you really need to consider avoiding." :11
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Salad greens and melons may be in the same boat- keep them refrigerated in a cooler or ice chest if you are away from home. Finally, when the meal is outdoors, make sure foods don't stay out for more than four hours. When in doubt, throw it out. In Salem, I'm Bruce Pokarney.
Additional audio: Audio 03
KENDRICK says it's a good idea to eat foods you have packed on a picnic or camping trip as soon as possible after putting them out, especially those items that need to be refrigerated:
"You can have your food out for four hours. But at the end of the four hours, you need to throw it away, if it's a food that requires refrigeration, of course." :08
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Additional audio: Audio 04
KENDRICK says in the summertime, the person preparing the meals may be a seasonal chef who is not always practicing the art of safe food preparation:
"If they are grilling or cooking raw meats, you want to keep those separate from any food that you aren't going to be cooking. Raw produce can be a concern. So make sure you always wash it well." :12
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Full story
http://oregon.gov/ODA/news/110616summer_foods.shtml |
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