Football season is here! That means tailgating parties with friends and family as you cheer on your favorite team. When cooking in stadium parking lots, it’s important to follow food safety guidelines to prevent being sidelined by foodborne illness. Let’s huddle up and put together a food safety game plan for a winning tailgating season.
An Insulated Cooler is the Best Defense
When transporting perishable items to the tailgating site, pack food right from the refrigerator into a cooler or insulated bag. Include sufficient ice or cold sources, such as ice packs or frozen water bottles, to keep the food at 40 degrees F or below. Place an appliance thermometer in the cooler so you can check that the food stays at that temperature.
Play Zone Defense: No Cross-Contamination
Don’t use the same platter and utensils that hold raw meat and poultry to serve cooked foods. Any bacteria present in the raw products or their juices can contaminate the safely cooked foods. Serve cooked foods on clean plates using clean utensils.
Blitz Bacteria with a Food Thermometer
Meat and poultry cooked on a grill often brown very fast on the outside, making it look done before it actually is. Cook food to a safe minimum internal temperature, as measured with a food thermometer.
- Beef, pork, veal and lamb (steaks, roasts and chops): 145 degrees F and allow for a 3-minute rest time.
- Hamburgers made of ground beef, pork, veal and lamb: 160 degrees F.
- All poultry (including ground): 165 degrees F.
When measuring the temperature of thin foods, such as hamburger patties, insert the probe through the side of the food until it reaches the center.
No Foods Warming the Bench
Leaving food out too long at room temperature can cause bacteria to grow to dangerous levels and take everyone out of the game with foodborne illness. Bacteria grow most rapidly in the range of temperatures between 40 degrees F and 140 degrees F, doubling in number in as little as 20 minutes. This range of temperatures is called the Danger Zone.
Never leave food out of refrigeration over 2 hours. If the temperature is above 90 degrees F where foods are being served, the food should not be left out for more than 1 hour.
- Keep cold food cold at or below 40 degrees F. Nestle containers of food in ice or keep them in the cooler until ready to serve. Serve small portions and change out frequently.
- Keep hot food hot at or above 140 degrees F. Place cooked food in chafing dishes, preheated steam tables, or warming trays. Slow cookers can be an option, too, if you have access to a power source. If you are grilling, meats can be kept hot on a warm grill.
For more information on safe tailgating, visit Tailgating Food Safety Q & A. If you have questions, call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) or email M[email protected] to reach a food safety specialist, or chat live at ask.usda.gov from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.
