Travellers; Be Careful What You Eat by Margot B

sufficient ice, or gel packs to keep the food at 40 F. Pack food directly from

the fridge or freezer into it. Why? Bacteria grow and multiply rapidly in the

danger zone between 40 F and 140 F [out of the refrigerator or before food

begins to cook]. So, food transported without an ice source or left out in the

sun at a picnic won't stay safe long.

Put in air-conditioned passenger section, not in the trunk. At the camp site,

insulate the cooler with a blanket or tarp and keep it in the shade. Keep the

lid closed and avoid repeated openings. Replenish the ice if it melts. Once gel

packs and their cold sources melt and cannot be replaced, perishables are not

safe---discard them.

When Fishing:

With 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 the 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.

Crabs, lobsters and other shellfish must be kept alive until cooked. Store in

live wells or out of water in a bushel or laundry basket under wet burlap or

seaweed.

Crabs and lobsters are best eaten the day they're caught. Live oysters should be

cooked within 7 to 10 days.

Live mussels and clams should be cooked within 4 to 5 days.

Eating raw shellfish is extremely dangerous. People with liver disorders or

weakened immune systems are expecially at risk.

Cleanup on the boat is similar to cleanup in the wild. Bring disposable wipes

for handwashing, and bag all your trash to dispose of when you return to shore.

Vacation Home or RV:

If a vacation home or a recreational vehicle has not been used for a while,

check leftover canned food from last year. The Meat and Poultry Hotline

recommends that canned foods that may have been exposed to freezing and thawing

temperatures over the winter be discarded. Also, check the refrigerator. If

unplugged from last year, thoroughly clean it before using. Make sure all food

preparation areas in the vacation home or in the recreational vehicle are

thoroughly cleaned.

It's perfectly safe to store uncooked patties as well as raw steaks, ribs, chops

and raw poultry in the refrigerator for a day or so until ready to pack the

cooler. If marinating meat and poultry, store in the refrigerator---not on the

counter. If you plan to use some of the marinade as a sauce, reserve a portion

before putting raw meat in it. Don't reuse the marinade, throw it out!

Perishables must be kept cold or cooked and chilled. Food should not be out of

the refrigerator or oven longer than 2 hours. If cooking foods beforehand---such

as turkey, ham, chicken, and vegetable or pasta salads---prepare them in plenty

of time to thoroughly chill in the refrigerator. Divide large amounts of food

into small containers for fast chilling and easier use. Keep cooked foods

refrigerated until time to leave home.

Purchasing Take-Out Foods:

If you're planning on purchasing take-out foods such as fried chicken or

barbecued beef, eat them within two hours of pickup. Otherwise, buy ahead of

time to chill before packing them into the cooler.

Serving Food:

Except when served, the food should be stored in a cooler. As the refrigerator

at home when the power is off, the more times you open a cooler, the more cold

air will escape. Once the ice melts, the cooler won't be able to keep food safe.

Keep cold drinks in a separate cooler to avoid constantly opening the one

containing perishable foods.

If you've packed cooked foods in several small containers, you can serve one and

keep the others cold for second helpings. Leave raw meat in the cooler, too.

When cooking it, remove from the cooler only the amount that will fit on the

grill.

Grilling Safety for Safety and Quality:

The coals should be very hot before cooking food. For optimal heat, burn them 20

to 30 minutes or until they are lightly coated with ash. The USDA recommends

against eating raw or undercooked ground beef since harmful bacteria could be

present. To be sure bacteria are destroyed, cook hamburgers to 160 F on a meat

thermometer. Large cuts of beef such as roasts may be cooked to 145 F for medium

rare or to 160 F for medium. Cook ground poultry to 165 F and poultry parts to

180 F. Reheat pre-cooked meats until steaming hot. When taking foods off the

grill, don't put the cooked items on the same platter which held the raw meat.

Raw meat juices can contain bacteria that could cross-contaminate safely cooked

foods. Do not partially grill extra hamburgers to use later. Once you begin

cooking hamburgers by any method, cook them until completely done to assure that

bacteria are destroyed.

Keeping Leftovers Safe:

Place leftover foods in the cooler promptly after grilling or serving. Any left

outside for more than an hour should be discarded. For the return trip, the

cooler should again travel in the air-conditioned part of the car. If you were

gone not more than 4 or 5 hours and your perishables were kept on ice except

when cooked and served, you should be able to use the leftovers.

Check the cooler when you get home. If there is still ice in the cooler and the

food is "refrigerator cool" to the touch, the leftovers should be safe to eat.

Remember: cook it, peel it, or leave it---and don't drink the water!

Go to Page 1

BIO:

By Margot B/Writer & Web Developer
Margot B has written hundreds of
articles, one book, with a book in
progress.

mailto:margotb@wonderport.com
http://www.writers.Org-HQ.com

Some Aditional Articles you may enjoy

Supplement by Rolf Rasmusson

Why are you fat? by John

Increase Your Training Intensity - Pre-Exhaustion by Rick Mitchell

Peanut Butter and Pizza - An Alternative to the High Protein Diet by Randy Mclean

The Omega Zone Diet and Fish Oil by Iulia Pascanu

Click a Number to go to an article index page
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39