Safe Food Handling Prevents Foodborne Illness At Picnics

Memorial Day often brings picnics and barbecues. Putnam County Extension Agent Michelle Parrot said folks need to practice safe food handling to make sure no one gets food poisoning.

Side dishes, like cut vegetables, potato or macaroni salad and even desserts need to be kept cold.

“Sometimes you have to spend a little more to get some ice or maybe some larger coolers, depending on how many items you’re bringing, and make sure those dishes are actually down in that ice because that’s the only way we can keep them cool while we’re traveling,” Parrot said.

Keeping food below 40 degrees is key, she said.

“There’s a danger zone that people like to talk about and that danger zone when you’re talking about storage and/or cooking is 40 to 140 degrees. So anything in that range can actually have bacteria growth,” Parrot said.

Bacteria can cause food poisoning and spoil a good picnic, she said.