Consumer Education and Information Slightly Revised October 1997
Online Version Slightly Revised May 1998

Beginning with Safe Food
Perishable food must be kept cold or frozen at the store and at home. In between, the food should be at room temperature or in the car as little time as possible. Then it 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.

Packing for Outings
If taking food away from home--on a picnic, for example--try to plan just the right amount of perishable foods to take. That way, you will not have to worry about the storage or safety of leftovers. Items, which don't require refrigeration, include fruits, vegetables, hard cheese, canned meat or fish, chips, bread, crackers, peanut butter, jelly, mustard, and pickles. You do not need to pack them in a cooler.

It is 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 it 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. Do not reuse the marinade from meat unless it's boiled first to destroy any bacteria that may have been on the raw meat.

Purchasing Take-Out Foods
If you're planning on purchasing take-out foods such as fried chicken or barbecued beef, eat them within 2 hours of pickup. Otherwise, buy cooked foods ahead of time to chill before packing them into the cooler.

Keeping Cold Food Cold
After estimating the amount of food which needs to be kept cold, pack an insulated cooler with sufficient ice or gel packs to keep the food at 40 °F. Pack food right from the refrigerator 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). Therefore, food transported without an ice source or left out in the sun at a picnic will not stay safe long.

If packing a bag lunch or lunch box, it is fine to prepare the food the night before and store the packed lunch in the refrigerator. To keep the lunch cool away from home, pack a small frozen gel pack or frozen juice box. Of course, if there is a refrigerator at work, store perishable items there upon arrival. Leftover perishables, which have been kept refrigerated, should be safe to take home. However, once gel packs and other cold sources melt, perishables are not safe -- discard them.

When taking food to a picnic, do not put the cooler in the trunk; carry it inside the air-conditioned car. At the picnic, keep the cooler in the shade. Keep the lids closed and avoid repeated openings. Replenish the ice if it melts.

Serving Food
Except when served, the food should be stored in a cooler. Just like a 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 will not be able to keep food safe. Keep cold drinks in a separate cooler to avoid constantly opening the one containing perishable foods. If you have 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 is 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, do not 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.

For additional food safety information about meat, poultry, or eggs, call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1 (800) 535-4555; Washington, D.C., call (202) 720-3333; TTY: 1 (800) 256-7072. It is staffed by home economists, dietitians, and food technologists from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern time, year round.

An extensive selection of food safety recordings can be heard 24 hours a day using a touch-tone phone. Information is also available from the FSIS Web site: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/

Consumer information pieces can be received by fax by calling the FSIS Fast Fax at (800) 238-8281; Washington, D.C. area, call (202) 690-3754. For Further Information Contact: FSIS Food Safety Education and Communications Staff Meat and Poultry Hotline: 1-800-535-4555 (Tollfree Nationwide) (202) 720-3333 (Washington, DC area) 1-800-256-7072 (TDD/TTY) <