Summer Food Safety Tips

The summer is the perfect time to experiment with new recipes, do outdoor cooking, and enjoy all the seasonal, fresh produce that’s available. 

However, some food-related risks can be greater in summer. 

For example, outdoor cooking can be dangerous if you place the grill or smoker too close to your home. 

Beyond managing fire risks, the following are things to know about the food-related risks in summer and how to mitigate them. 

Understanding Foodborne Illness

There are around 48 million people who get a foodborne illness every year, and these lead to around 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths annually. 

Most foodborne illnesses are preventable, however. 

The most common foodborne illnesses include:

• E. coli is a bacteria that can live in our intestines, and some species don’t cause the disease, while others can cause serious sickness. E. coli can get into your body through contaminated water as well as food, and it’s one of the main culprits in many foodborne outbreaks globally. E. Coli can come from improperly handling or cooking food, such as meat, but also by having unpasteurized juices and dairy products. 
• Norovirus is the most common cause of foodborne illness in the U.S., but it can spread from person-to-person too. Symptoms of norovirus usually start within one to two days after consuming contaminated food. Symptoms of norovirus include vomiting, cramps, and diarrhea. Some people also experience muscle aches, headaches, and mild fever. Good hand hygiene and safe food handling are the best ways to prevent norovirus. 
• Salmonella can come from infected meat, eggs, fruits, vegetables, and even spices and nuts. It can cause enteric fever with sometimes severe symptoms like high fever. 
• Campylobacter is a type of bacteria that usually leads to sporadic illness rather than large outbreaks. It can come from poultry as well as contaminated water and unpasteurized dairy products. 

General Summer Food Safety Tips

Food poisoning peaks in the summer months, for a few reasons. One is because the higher temperatures lead to a growth of germs and bacteria. Plus, more people are grilling and cooking outside, so they might leave food sitting out for longer. 

General summer food safety tips include:

• You should always refrigerate your perishable food as soon as possible, and if it’s above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, you should make sure they’re refrigerated within one hour. 
• If you’re preparing food ahead of time for a summer party or event, divide the cooked items into shallow containers and then cool them quickly in the refrigerator or freezer. 
• If you’re grilling get rid of the sauces or marinades, you might have used on raw meat. These sauces and marinades can spread germs to food that’s cooked. 
• If you’re eating somewhere like a carnival or festival, make sure the vendor is licensed to sell food. The employees should be wearing gloves and using utensils to serve food. 
• Bring your own hand sanitizer and wipes wherever you go and use them before you eat. This is especially important right now with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 
• It’s advisable to avoid raw oysters. While these can be a summer favorite, raw oysters can have bacteria that make you extremely ill. There is a disease called vibriosis that comes from raw oysters, and most of these cases occur in the summer. Oysters eat by drawing in water, and that includes whatever else might be in the water like bacteria and viruses. They can get concentrated in the body of the oyster, and if you eat them raw, they can infect you. You can also be vibriosis if you have a wound that’s exposed to saltwater with the bacteria. 
• Keep raw food from your cooked food. For example, make sure raw meat doesn’t come in contact with vegetables or other uncooked foods. Bacteria can also be transferred on preparation surfaces, including cutting boards. 
• If you’re going to cook food at a picnic site, bring a set of utensils to handle all of your raw items, and another set for cooked. 
• If you’re using a cooler to transport raw meat, don’t use the ice from that for drinks. 
• Make sure your cooler is cold enough. You should have at least ¼ of the overall interior space of a cooler dedicated to ice. If you’re going to use a cooler to transport food, try to freeze them before you put them in the cooler. Use a thermometer in your cooler and ensure that the temperature is always below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. If you keep the cooler closed as much as possible, it will help temperatures stay cooler and more stable. 
• Always check the temperature of the foods you’re cooking before eating them. For example, a burger should be at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit internally, and chicken should be 165 degrees Fahrenheit. 
• When you’re buying food, choose your poultry, meat, and seafood last. Have them separated in your cart and your grocery bags. It’s best for raw poultry, meat, and seafood to be in their own individual plastic bags. 

Grilling Tips

If you’re going to grill this summer, marinate your food before you cook it in the refrigerator rather than leaving it on the counter. Make sure you use an internal thermometer every time you grill meat and seafood. 

Along with the temperature for hamburgers listed above, fish should be 145 degrees, pre-cooked meat like hot dogs should be 165, and whole cuts of beef, pork, lamb, and veal should be 145 degrees. 

After you grill food, it should retain a temperature of 140 degrees or warmer until it’s served. 

If you’re going to bring hot food to a party or barbecue, it needs to be eaten within two hours. 

If you’re going to save any leftovers, you should freeze them or put them into the refrigerator within two hours of cooking them or one hour if it’s hotter than 90 degrees outside. 

Food safety is always important, but the risks go up in the summer, so remain vigilant to prevent illness.