Serve food safely this summer

Huron Perth, ON – Whether you’re heading to the beach, camping, or having a backyard get together, food needs to be safely prepared and served to avoid food-borne illnesses. Huron Perth Public Health would like to offer some food safety tips to prevent illness when planning summer activities and meals.

“It’s not uncommon to see an increase in food-borne illness cases, such as campylobacter and salmonella, over the summer months,” says Chris Boyes, Public Health Inspector. “With more outdoor gatherings and activities at this time of year, food will often sit out in warm temperatures for several hours. This creates an ideal environment for harmful bacteria to multiply and increases the risk of people getting sick.”

Common symptoms of food-borne illness include stomach pain or cramps, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Some tips for handling and serving food safely to avoid food-borne illness include:

Clean

• Wash hands before preparing and eating food. Use soap and water if available, or hand sanitizer containing at least 70 percent alcohol.
• Wash vegetables and fruits under running water that is safe to drink.
• Clean and sanitize counters, cutting boards, and food preparation utensils.

Cook

• Thoroughly cook and reheat food to the proper internal temperature. Use a probe thermometer to check the temperature.
• When serving hot foods, keep them above 60°C (140 F) by placing them on the grill, or in heated chafing dishes, a slow cooker, or warming trays.

Chill

• Keep cold foods at 4°C (40 F) or below by placing them in a refrigerator, cooler, insulated container, or over ice.
• Pack perishables safely when transporting food for a beach day, camping trip, tournament, or outdoor gathering. Use a cooler with multiple ice packs or bags of ice.
• Never defrost or marinate food at room temperature.

Separate

• Keep raw meat, poultry, seafood and their juices separate from cooked and ready to eat food during storage and preparation to prevent cross contamination.

Keep food out of the temperature danger zone

• The danger zone is between 4°C and 60°C (40°F to 140°F). Harmful bacteria can multiply quickly in this temperature range. Perishable foods that are left sitting out for more than two hours (or one hour on hot summer days) are unsafe to eat and should be thrown out.  

For more information visit our Safe food handling page.