Food Safety Tips for A Healthy Memorial Day Cookout

Safe food-handling techniques are critical when dining outdoors. Here are some suggestions from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, just in time for Memorial Day weekend picnics and barbecues.

• When you serve cold food, make sure it is kept in a cooler with ice or freezer packs, at or below 40 F.

• Pack cold beverages in one cooler and perishable foods in another

• Meat, poultry and seafood can be packed while it is still frozen. Keep all raw meat wrapped tightly so its juices cannot contaminate other foods.

• Rinse fresh fruits and vegetables, including those with skins and rinds that are not eaten, under running tap water.

• Rub firm-skin fruits and vegetables under running tap water or scrub with a clean vegetable brush while rinsing.

• Never keep a cooler of food in a hot car trunk. Limit the times the cooler is opened.

• Marinate foods in the refrigerator. If some of the marinade is to be used as a sauce on the cooked food, reserve a portion separately. Don’t reuse marinade.

• Don’t use the platter and utensils that previously touched raw meat or seafood to serve cooked foods.

• Use a food thermometer. Most cooked meats need to be at least 145 F to 170 F.

• When served, hot food should be kept at or warmer than 140 F.

• Bowls of chicken salad or potato salad and desserts in individual serving dishes can be placed directly on ice.

• Food should not sit out for more than one hour in temperatures above 90 F.

 

Business Directory

• • Fairway Ford
• • Rex McCarty Appraisal Services
• • Wallace Nissan of Kingsport
• • Mike Jenkins Evangelistic Association, Inc.
• • Northeast State Technical Community College
• • Farm Credit of the Virginias
• • Scott County Chamber
• • Town of Gate City
• • Scott County Horse Association

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