10 Wide Open Tips For Food Safety In The Great Outdoors

Hiking, camping, and boating are good activities for active people and families. However, if the food isn’t handled correctly, food-borne illness can be an unwelcome souvenir.
1. Choose foods that are light enough to carry in a backpack and that can be transported safely. Keep foods either hot or cold. Since it’s difficult to keep foods hot without a heat source, it’s best to transport chilled foods. Refrigerate or freeze the food overnight. What foods to bring? For a day hike, just about anything will do as long as you can fit it in your backpack and keep it cold — sandwiches, fried chicken, bread and cheese, and even salads — or choose non- perishable foods.
2. Keep everything clean. Remember to bring disposable wipes if you’re taking a day trip. (Water is too heavy to bring enough for cleaning dishes!)
3. It’s not a good idea to depend on fresh water from a lake or stream for drinking, no matter how clean it appears. Some pathogens thrive in remote mountain lakes or streams and there’s no way to know what might have fallen into the water upstream. Bring bottled or tap water for drinking. Always start out with a full water bottle and replenish your supply from tested public systems when possible. On long trips you can find water in streams, lakes, and springs, but be sure to purify any water from the wild, no matter how clean it appears.
4. If you’re backpacking for more than a day, the food situation gets a little more complicated. You can still bring cold foods for the first day, but you’ll have to pack shelf-stable items for the next day. Canned goods are safe, but heavy, so plan your menu carefully. Advances in food technology have produced relatively lightweight staples that don’t need refrigeration or careful packaging. For example:
==> peanut butter in plastic jars;
==> concentrated juice boxes;
==> canned tuna, ham, chicken, and beef;
==> dried noodles and soups;
==> beef jerky and other dried meats;
==> dehydrated foods;
==> dried fruits and nuts; and
==> powdered milk and fruit drinks.
5. If you’re cooking meat or poultry on a portable stove or over a fire, you’ll need a way to determine when it’s done and safe to eat. Color is not a reliable indicator of doneness, and it can be especially tricky to tell the color of a food if you’re cooking in a wooded area in the evening. It’s critical to use a food thermometer when cooking hamburgers. Ground beef may be contaminated with E. coli, a particularly dangerous strain of bacteria. Illnesses have occurred even when ground beef patties were cooked until there was no visible pink. The only way to insure that ground beef patties are safely cooked is to use a food thermometer, and cook the patty until it reaches 160В° F. Be sure to clean the thermometer between uses.
6. To keep foods cold, you’ll need a cold source. A block of ice keeps longer than ice cubes. Before leaving home, freeze clean, empty milk cartons filled with water to make blocks of ice, or use frozen gel-packs. Fill the cooler with cold or frozen foods. Pack foods in reverse order. First foods packed should be the last foods used. (There is one exception: pack raw meat or poultry below ready-to-eat foods to prevent raw meat or poultry juices from dripping on the other foods.)
7. Camping supply stores sell biodegradable camping soap in liquid and solid forms. But use it sparingly, and keep it out of rivers, lakes, streams, and springs, as it will pollute. If you use soap to clean your pots, wash the pots at the campsite, not at the water’s edge. Dump dirty water on dry ground, well away from fresh water. Some wilderness campers use baking soda to wash their utensils. Pack disposable wipes for hands and quick cleanups.
8. If you’re planning to fish, check with your fish and game agency or state health department to see where you can fish safely, then follow these guidelines for Finfish:
==> Scale, gut, and clean fish as soon as they’re caught.
==> Live fish can be kept on stringers or in live wells, as long as they have enough water and enough room to move and breathe.
==> Wrap fish, both whole and cleaned, in water-tight plastic and store on ice.
==> Keep 3 to 4 inches of ice on the bottom of the cooler. Alternate layers of fish and ice.
==> Store cooler out of the sun and cover with a blanket.
==> Once home, eat fresh fish within 1 to 2 days or freeze them. For top quality, use frozen fish within 3 to 6 months.
9. If using a cooler, leftover food is safe only if the cooler still has ice in it. Otherwise discard leftover food.
10. Whether in the wild or on the high seas, protect yourself and your family by washing your hands before and after handling food.

10 Easy Ways To Protect Your Family From Food Poisoning

Do you realize the many ways that bacteria can contaminate the food YOUR FAMILY eats? Do you know how to tell if your food is THOROUGHLY cooked to keep YOUR family safe from Food Poisoning? Do you know what to do if you or SOMEONE YOU LOVE gets Food Poisoning?
When it comes to food preparation and storage, “Common Practices” could be POISONING your family!
Here’s how to avoid the problem entirely:
1. Plan For Safety
Make sure you have the right equipment, including cutting boards, utensils, food thermometers, cookware, shallow containers for storage, soap, and paper towels. Make sure you have a source of clean water. Plan ahead to ensure that there will be adequate storage space in the refrigerator and freezer.
2. Shop Smart
Prevention of food poisoning starts with your trip to the supermarket. Pick up your packaged and canned foods first. Buy cans and jars that look perfect. Do the cans have dents? Don’t buy canned goods that are dented, cracked, or bulging. These are the warning signs that dangerous bacteria may be growing in the can. Are the jars cracked? Do they have lids that are loose or bulging? The food may have germs that can make you sick. Look for any expiration dates on the labels and never buy outdated food. Likewise, check the “use by” or “sell by” date on dairy products such as cottage cheese, cream cheese, yogurt, and sour cream and pick the ones that will stay fresh longest in your refrigerator.
3. Store Food Properly
After shopping, get home as soon as you can. Then put food into the refrigerator or freezer right away. Make sure to set the refrigerator temperature to 40В° F and the freezer to 0В° F. Check temperatures with an appliance thermometer. Be sure to refrigerate or freeze perishables, prepared foods, and leftovers within 2 hours of shopping or preparing. Place raw meat, poultry, and seafood in containers in the refrigerator, to prevent their juices from dripping on other foods. Raw juices may contain harmful bacteria. Eggs always go in the refrigerator.
4. Prepare Food Safely
Wash hands and surfaces often. Bacteria can be spread throughout the kitchen and get onto cutting boards, utensils and counter tops. To prevent this, wash hands with soap and hot water before and after handling food, and after using the bathroom, changing diapers, or handling pets. Wash everything else before and after it touches food. Use paper towels or clean cloths to wipe kitchen surfaces or spills. Wash cloths before you use them again for anything else. Use the hot cycle of your washing machine. Wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils, and counter tops with hot, soapy water after preparing each food item and before you go on to the next item. A solution of 1 teaspoon of bleach in 1 quart of water may be used to sanitize washed surfaces and utensils.
5. Cook Food Thoroughly
Cook food thoroughly until it is done. Cooked red meat looks brown inside. Poke cooked chicken with a fork. The juices should look clear, not pink. Dig a fork into cooked fish. The fish should flake. Cooked egg whites and yolks are firm, not runny. Use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of meat, poultry, casseroles and other food. Use a thermometer with a small-diameter stem. Insert the thermometer 1 to 2 inches into the center of the food and wait 30 seconds to ensure an accurate measurement. Check temperature in several places to be sure the food is evenly heated.
6. Chill Food Promptly
Place food in the refrigerator. Don’t overfill the refrigerator. Cool air must circulate to keep food safe. Divide food and place in shallow containers. Slice roast beef or ham and layer in containers in portions for service. Divide turkey into smaller portions or slices & refrigerate. Remove stuffing from cavity before refrigeration. Place soups or stews in shallow containers. To cool quickly, place in ice water bath and stir. Cover and label cooked foods. Include the preparation date on the label.
7. Transport Food Safely
Keep cold food cold. Place cold food in cooler with a cold source such as ice or commercial freezing gels. Use plenty of ice or commercial freezing gels. Cold food should be held at or below 40В° F. Hot food should be kept hot, at or above 140В° F. Wrap well and place in an insulated container.
8. Reheat Food Correctly
Heat cooked, commercially vacuum-sealed, ready-to-eat foods, such as hams and roasts, to 140В° F. Foods that have been cooked ahead & cooled should be reheated to at least 165В° F. Reheat leftovers thoroughly to at least 165В° F. Reheat sauces, soups, and gravies to a boil.
9. Serve Food The Safe Way
Use clean containers and utensils to store and serve food. When a dish is empty or nearly empty, replace with fresh container of food, removing the previous container. Place cold food in containers on some ice. Hold cold foods at or below 40В° F. Food that will be portioned and served should be placed in a shallow container. Place the container inside a deep pan filled partially with ice to keep food cold. Once food is thoroughly heated on stovetop, oven or in microwave oven, keep food hot by using a heat source. Place food in chafing dishes, preheated steam tables, warming trays and/or slow cookers. Check the temperature frequently to be sure food stays at or above 140В° F.
10. Complete Your Meal Experience Safely
Cooked foods should not be left standing on the table or kitchen counter for more than 2 hours. Disease-causing bacteria grow in temperatures between 40В° F and 140В° F. Cooked foods that have been in this temperature range for more than 2 hours should not be eaten. If a dish is to be served hot, get it from the stove to the table as quickly as possible. Reheated foods should be brought to a temperature of at least 165В° F. Keep cold foods in the refrigerator or on a bed of ice until serving. This rule is particularly important to remember in the summer months. Leftovers should be refrigerated as soon as possible. Meats should be cut in slices of 3 inches or less and all foods should be stored in small, shallow containers to hasten cooling. Be sure to remove all the stuffing from roast turkey or chicken and store it separately. Giblets should also be stored separately. Leftovers should be used within 3 days. Discard any food left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours.