On Your Own
Packing a Safe Picnic (or Tailgate Party!)
To Pack a Safe Picnic:
- Wash hands before and after preparing food.
- Pack food in a well insulated container. By ice or icepacks to keep temperatures below 40 ° F.
- If you are grilling, keep raw meats and ready-to-eat foods separate.
- Seal raw or thawed meats in heavy plastic wrap to prevent juices from contaminating other foods.
- When grilling, remove from the cooler only the amount of raw meat, fish or poultry that will fit on the grill at one time.
- If you are marinating meat or chicken, don’t reuse marinade.
- Throw away perishable items. Foods should not be left un refrigerated for more than two hours. In hot weather (90 ° or above) this time is reduced to one hour.
- Keep hot food hot and keep cold food cold.
- During the summer, transport the cooler in the back seat of your air-conditioned car instead of in your hot trunk.
- Pack moist towelettes to clean.
For more information on food safety at home or out, check out www.homefoodsafety.org.
Can healthy eating and college life go together? Absolutely! Get the nutrition facts you need in the book Eating Well on Campus by Ann Litt, M.S., R.D., L.D.
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