Food Safety Tips for a Healthy Independence Day Cookout

With Independence Day cookouts ahead, the Henry and Stark County Health Departments are reminding residents to keep food safety on the menu. Officials say meat and poultry should be picked up last at the grocery store, kept cold, and taken home promptly. At home, thaw foods in the refrigerator or microwave — never on the counter. During prep, wash hands, knives, cutting boards, and counters after handling raw meat to prevent cross-contamination. For picnics, pack perishables in ice-filled coolers, keep them shaded, and limit opening. Leftovers should be chilled quickly, and when in doubt, throw them out.

Warm weather meals can bring family and friends together, but health officials warn they can also raise the risk of food poisoning. The Henry and Stark County Health Departments say symptoms often resemble the flu, including headache, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and fever, which means cases may go unnoticed. Anyone who suspects food poisoning should contact a health care professional right away. Officials urge residents to use safe food handling before, during, and after summertime meals to keep cookouts and picnics safe. More information is available at henrystarkhealth.com or through the department’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.

• When at the grocer’s, choose meat and poultry last. Bag your selections with other cold items and get them home promptly. Don’t leave such food in the car while you run errands. If foods are allowed to get warm, germs and pathogens that are present will begin to multiply.
• Once home, store soon-to-be-used meat and poultry items in the refrigerator in their original store wrapper or rewrap in freezer foil and store in the deep freezer. This will shorten freezing time and also enable them to be thawed more quickly later on by reducing the time needed between thawing and cooking. What’s more, meat and poultry products should never be allowed to thaw at room temperature. Defrosting such items in the refrigerator or microwave is a much safer practice.
• Pay close attention to how foods are prepared for cooking outdoors. Wash all countertops, cutting boards, and knives with hot soapy water before and after using them for raw foods. Such “cross-contamination” could be unhealthy. Always wash hands before and after handling raw meat items.
• When packing up foods for a picnic or outing, place perishable items including hot dogs, cheese and luncheon meats, in a well-insulated cooler and cover with plenty of ice. Keep coolers in the shade and open them only when necessary.
• While it is usually safe to store picnic leftovers in an ice-filled cooler, it’s a good idea to package up remaining foods immediately after the meal is finished. Food items left out at room temperature for three hours or more should be discarded, but those exposed to warmer outside temperatures should be disposed of much sooner. Actually, the best rule to follow is “when in doubt, throw it out.”