Summer Cooking
Filed Under categories: News You Can Use, Words of Wisdom from Uncle Lee
posted by Raye on July 6th, 2007
“You’ve lit the grill, marinated the meat, and gathered your family and friends for a savory feast — summer tradition at its best. But beware: You may have invited more guests than you thought.Summer is peak season for food-borne illnesses, which strike 76 million people a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A 2004 CDC report found nearly half of all E. coli and salmonella cases took place between July and September.
To make sure you send guests home with yummy leftovers instead of food poisoning, follow these simple tips from the food safety experts: The prep The first lesson in grilling: Hot foods must stay hot (above 140 degrees), and cold foods must stay cold (below 40 degrees), says Kathleen L. D’Ovidio, Ph.D., assistant professor of food science in the Food Science and Management Department at Delaware Valley College in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Any temperature in between is a danger zone where all kinds of bacteria, including salmonella, E. coli, and Campylobacter love to breed. Follow this rule especially when thawing and marinating meat. Keep meat in the fridge, not on the counter. Also, put your meat in a dish with sides to keep it from dripping on other things such as produce, says Janet Anderson, a nutrition and food science professor at Utah State University.
Health.com: The smart woman’s summer survival guide Any sauce that touches raw meat should be treated like raw meat, Anderson says. Add final touches of flavor with sauce that hasn’t been used yet, or if you must use the marinade, boil it for at least a minute before spreading it on cooked meat. Before cooking, fill your kitchen sink with hot, soapy water, Anderson says. That way dirty trays and utensils go straight into the sink, and you’re not tempted to use them again. You also should have a ready washcloth for sanitizing any surface that raw food has touched. If you’re grilling at a beach or park where you don’t have ready access to a sink, bring a water jug, soap, and paper towels, D’Ovidio says. Disposable towelettes and antibacterial gel work in a pinch, but they’re not as effective as soap and water.
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This entry was posted on Friday, July 6th, 2007 at 3:30 pm and is filed under News You Can Use, Words of Wisdom from Uncle Lee. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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