Holiday Food Hazards
We all have our little idiosyncrasies don't we? Well I'll tell you one of mine if you tell me one of yours...
I'm downright paranoid about eating food at parties that has been sitting out too long. Hot food should be kept hot and cold food should be kept cold when it is sitting out at a party.
Here are some simple suggestions to help you do this:
* Keep hot food hot by only putting out smaller portions of hot food at a time. It's a little more work to bake or heat your batches as needed, but it's worth it!
* Keep hot food hot by keeping appropriate items in a crock-pot. You just need access to an electrical outlet and an extension cord might be needed.
* Chafing dishes can often be used for this purpose too.
* Keep cold food cold by putting out small batches of cold food at a time and replenish as needed. Store your second and third batches in the refrigerator until needed.
* Keep cold food cold by placing shallow bowls filled with your cold food item over a deeper bowl partly filled with ice.
What else do you need to know? Keep The 2 Hour Rule and the Leftovers Law in mind over the holidays when you are party hopping or enjoying holiday meals at homes of friends and family.
The 2-Hour Rule:
Once food is cooked, it should not be kept at room temperature for more than two hours, including serving, eating and cooling time. Why be so vigilant about this? Small amounts of bacteria that may be in or on meat and other perishable foods can reproduce rapidly at room temperature.
The Leftovers Law:
First of all, allow food to cool only briefly before refrigerating it. People have a habit of wanting to let food cool for hours before putting it in the refrigerator. Over the holidays especially, food can sit out for several hours before it is wrapped up and stored in the refrigerator. If you are at someone's house and you are looking forward to taking meat leftovers home (or dishes with other perishable ingredients), ask if you can make a plate for yourself right after the meal and then store it in the refrigerator immediately. If you have a long drive home, bring along one of those re-usable frozen blocks to keep your perishable food cool on the ride home. (If you don't have these, frozen boxes or pouches of fruit juice will work too). Store leftovers in shallow containers so they will cool quickly to the proper temperature in the refrigerator. Enjoy your leftovers the next day and possibly the day after that, but you probably want to throw out whatever is left on that third day. Better safe than sorry (that's my motto when making decisions about leftovers).
~~Elaine
Related Topics: Don't Let Food Make You Sick, Avoid Food Poisoning: Keep Your Fridge Safe
Technorati Tags: leftovers, foodsafety, parties, holidays
I'm downright paranoid about eating food at parties that has been sitting out too long. Hot food should be kept hot and cold food should be kept cold when it is sitting out at a party.
Here are some simple suggestions to help you do this:
* Keep hot food hot by only putting out smaller portions of hot food at a time. It's a little more work to bake or heat your batches as needed, but it's worth it!
* Keep hot food hot by keeping appropriate items in a crock-pot. You just need access to an electrical outlet and an extension cord might be needed.
* Chafing dishes can often be used for this purpose too.
* Keep cold food cold by putting out small batches of cold food at a time and replenish as needed. Store your second and third batches in the refrigerator until needed.
* Keep cold food cold by placing shallow bowls filled with your cold food item over a deeper bowl partly filled with ice.
What else do you need to know? Keep The 2 Hour Rule and the Leftovers Law in mind over the holidays when you are party hopping or enjoying holiday meals at homes of friends and family.
The 2-Hour Rule:
Once food is cooked, it should not be kept at room temperature for more than two hours, including serving, eating and cooling time. Why be so vigilant about this? Small amounts of bacteria that may be in or on meat and other perishable foods can reproduce rapidly at room temperature.
The Leftovers Law:
First of all, allow food to cool only briefly before refrigerating it. People have a habit of wanting to let food cool for hours before putting it in the refrigerator. Over the holidays especially, food can sit out for several hours before it is wrapped up and stored in the refrigerator. If you are at someone's house and you are looking forward to taking meat leftovers home (or dishes with other perishable ingredients), ask if you can make a plate for yourself right after the meal and then store it in the refrigerator immediately. If you have a long drive home, bring along one of those re-usable frozen blocks to keep your perishable food cool on the ride home. (If you don't have these, frozen boxes or pouches of fruit juice will work too). Store leftovers in shallow containers so they will cool quickly to the proper temperature in the refrigerator. Enjoy your leftovers the next day and possibly the day after that, but you probably want to throw out whatever is left on that third day. Better safe than sorry (that's my motto when making decisions about leftovers).
~~Elaine
Related Topics: Don't Let Food Make You Sick, Avoid Food Poisoning: Keep Your Fridge Safe
Technorati Tags: leftovers, foodsafety, parties, holidays
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