Kickoff football tailgate parties by packing food safety

Football season is here! That means tailgating parties with friends and family, as they cheer on their favorite team.

When cooking in stadium parking lots, it’s important to follow food safety guidelines, to prevent being sidelined by foodborne illness. So, huddle up and put together a food safety game plan, for a winning tailgating season.

• An Insulated Cooler is the Best Defense – When transporting perishable items to the tailgating site, pack food right from the refrigerator into a cooler or insulated bag.

Include sufficient ice or cold sources, such as ice packs or frozen water bottles, to keep the food at 40 degrees ºF or below. Place an appliance thermometer in the cooler, to check that the food stays at that temperature.

• Play Zone Defense: No Cross-Contamination – Don’t use the same platter and utensils, that hold raw meat and poultry to serve cooked foods. Any bacteria present in the raw products or their juices, can contaminate the safely cooked foods. Serve cooked foods on clean plates, using clean utensils.

• Blitz Bacteria with a Food Thermometer – Meat and poultry cooked on a grill, often brown very fast on the outside, making it look done, before it actually is. Cook food to a safe minimum internal temperature, as measured with a food thermometer. Beef, pork, veal and lamb (steaks, roasts and chops) should be at 145 degrees ºF, with a three-minute rest time; hamburgers made of ground beef, pork, veal and lamb need to be at 160 degrees ºF; and all poultry (including ground) must be at 165 degrees ºF. When measuring the temperature of thin foods, such as hamburger patties, insert the probe through the side of the food, until it reaches the center.

• No Foods Warming the Bench – Leaving food out too long at room temperature, can cause bacteria to grow to dangerous levels and take everyone out of the game, with foodborne illness. Bacteria grow most rapidly in the range of temperatures between 40 degrees ºF and 140 degrees ºF, doubling in number, in as little as 20 minutes. This range of temperatures is called the Danger Zone.

Never leave food out of refrigeration over two hours. If the temperature is above 90 degrees ºF where foods are being served, the food should not be left out for more than an hour.

• Keep cold food cold, at, or below, 40 degrees F. Nestle containers of food in ice or keep them in the cooler until ready to serve. Serve small portions and change out frequently.

• Keep hot food hot at or above 140 degrees ºF. Place cooked food in chafing dishes, preheated steam tables or warming trays. Slow cookers can be an option, too, if there’s access to a power source. If grilling, meats can be kept hot on a warm grill.