Keep cold foods refrigerated or use frozen gel packs in coolers to keep food at proper holding temperature. According to Boyer, cold food held at room or outdoor temperatures for more than two hours may not be safe to eat. If you are eating outside on a hot day, when the outdoor temperatures reach 90 degrees F or above, food should not be left out of refrigeration or a cooler longer than one hour.
To keep coolers with food as cold as possible, dont open them often. If the outdoor meal will include drinks, put the drinks in a separate cooler. This will avoid having to open the food cooler to take out drinks, letting the food cooler stay closed and keeping the cold inside it.
Boyer encourages summer chefs to cook food to proper temperatures. Use a food thermometer to ensure food has reached the correct temperature. According to recommendations from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, ground meat products such as hamburger, veal, lamb, and pork must be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F; chicken and turkey, 165 degrees F. Steak and fish should be grilled to an internal temperature of 145 degrees F. At this temperature, fish usually flakes with a fork, which indicates that it is ready to eat.
Barbecue sauces and marinades are popular when cooking out on a grill. There are special food-safety precautions for preparing these popular dishes, Boyer said. When marinating meat, put the meat and marinade in a clean glass dish and place it in the refrigerator for the time it needs to marinate. Never leave meat on the kitchen counter at room temperature.
If you wish to serve some of the sauce as a dip, save some of the sauce separately from the portion used for the raw meat. Marinade used on raw meat must be heated to 165 degrees F.
When cooking the marinated meat or poultry, be certain to cook the food completely whether using the grill, microwave, or oven. According to Boyer, this ensures that bacteria in the raw food are destroyed. Partially cooking meat or poultry in the microwave or oven or parboiling to reduce grilling time is safe only if the food is transferred immediately from the oven or stove to the hot grill. If you are taking meats and poultry to a picnic, cook them thoroughly and chill them thoroughly in the refrigerator or take them chilled and raw.
Boyer recommends putting leftovers in clean shallow containers and placing them in the refrigerator immediately. Leftovers may be reheated on a grill to provide added flavor, but make sure all leftovers are heated to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F or above.
About Virginia Cooperative Extension Virginia Cooperative Extension brings the resources of Virginias land-grant universities, Virginia Tech and Virginia State University, to the people of the commonwealth. Through a system of on-campus specialists and locally based agents, it delivers education in the areas of agriculture and natural resources, family and consumer sciences, community viability, and 4-H youth development. With a network of faculty at two universities, 107 county and city offices, 13 agricultural research and Extension centers, and six 4-H educational centers, Virginia Cooperative Extension provides solutions to the problems facing Virginians today.
Contact: Renee Boyer Consumer Food-Safety Specialist Virginia Cooperative Extension Virginia Tech (540) 231-4330 rrboyer@vt.edu
Contact: Michael Sutphin Writer Communications and Marketing College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Virginia Tech (540) 231-6975 msutphin@vt.edu
Writer: Susan Suddarth Student Intern Communications and Marketing College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Virginia Tech
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