NEWS ARTICLE   

For:    July Issue

To:      Gulf Coast Womens News

By:     Linda K. Bowman, Ext. Agt. IV - Family & Consumer Sciences

Santa Rosa County Extension Service

Telephone: 850/623-3868 or 939-1259, ext. 1360

 

 

Planning a Fourth of July Picnic?

Play it Safe with the Coolest Cooler Tips

 

Outdoor dining can spell disaster if spoiled food is on the menu.  In the summer heat, dangerous bacteria can multiply very quickly and cause illness that can spoil your fun.  Follow these “Cool Cooler Tips” to help ensure that your picnic foods arrive safe at the plate.

 

When You Pack Your Cooler:

 

Pack it Full to Keep it Cold

Pick a cooler that’s the right size for the right occasion.  A cooler completely packed with ice and chilled food keeps cooler longer than one that is only partially filled.

 

Fill your cooler with ice or freezer-packs.  To keep ice from melting on cooler contents, pack it in resealable plastic bags.  After you eat, the bags can be reused to store leftovers.

 

Avoid “Cooler Cross-Contamination”

Before you put raw meat, fish and poultry in your cooler, put them in tightly sealed plastic containers or plastic bags.  Their raw juices are loaded with bacteria that can contaminate ready-to-eat foods.

 

Instead of using one large (and heavy) cooler for everything, have one small or medium-sized cooler for raw meat, fish and poultry and another for ready-to-eat foods and drinks.

 

Pack Your Cooler for Safety

Be sure foods are cold or frozen before you place them in the cooler.  Pack highly perishable foods right next to the ice.  Keep your cooler lid closed as long as you can and pack foods in the reverse order that you will need them so the last foods you put in will be the first you use.

 

At the Picnic Scene:

 

Keep Your Cooler in the Coolest Spot

Drive with your cooler in the passenger area on the floor, not the sauna-like trunk.  Once outside, keep the cooler in the shade under a tree or bench and cover it with a light - colored blanket.  Don’t leave your cooler in direct sunlight or in a warm car.

 

Take Your Cooler’s Temperature

For safety’s sake, put an appliance thermometer inside your cooler to check the temperature.  For proper storage, coolers should be kept at or below 40oF.

After several hours your cooler’s temperature may rise into the “danger zone,” - between 40oF and 140oF - so remember to replenish the ice or ice packs to keep your cooler cool.

 

Avoid Lingering Leftovers

Don’t let your food - hot or cold - sit out on the picnic table for more than two hours - or within one hour if the outside temperature is above 85oF.  Put perishables into the cooler immediately after eating.  And remember - when in doubt, throw it out.

 

For further information contact:  Linda Bowman, Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent, The University of Florida--Santa Rosa County Cooperative Extension Service--IFAS, at  (850)623-3868 or (850)939-1259, Ext. 1360 for south county residents, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekdays.  Hearing impaired individuals may call Santa Rosa County Emergency Management Service at 983-5373 (TDD).

 

Extension Service programs are open to all people without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap or national origin.  The use of trade names in this article is solely for the purpose of providing specific information.  It is not a guarantee, warranty, or endorsement of the product name(s) and does not signify that they are approved to the

exclusion of others.