Spoiler alert: Extension offers food safety tips this summer | Education

Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer and the season of barbecues, camping trips, and family reunions. And it’s all fun—until the potato salad goes bad. Whatever your family’s summer plans are, don’t let the food spoil the fun.

“The big problems in summer are the usual suspects – mayonnaise and egg-based foods, not cooking to the right internal temperature, not washing hands and leaving things out too long,” says Nina Roofe, director of family and consumer sciences in the University of Arkansas’s Department of Agriculture.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one in six Americans will contract a foodborne illness each year. With proper food handling, your family doesn’t have to be part of that statistic. The key is to avoid cross-contamination and cook and store food at the right temperatures.

Roofe offers the following food safety tips:

– Avoid cross-contamination by using different cooking utensils and cutting boards for handling raw and cooked meat.

— Wash your hands often.

— Clean the grill before first use to avoid contamination from the previous user.

— Cook food thoroughly to a safe internal temperature. Don’t rely on color; check with a food thermometer. Beef steaks, pork steaks and fish should be cooked to at least 145 degrees; sausage and other ground meats to 160 degrees and chicken to 165 degrees.

— Store cold food at a temperature below 40 degrees.

– Store hot food above 140 degrees.

“Bacteria are particularly likely to multiply in the danger zone between 40 and 140 degrees Celsius. Therefore, it is better to store food in this temperature range for a shorter period of time,” says Roofe.

If you plan on camping, you can reduce the risk of food spoilage by preparing recipes in advance.

“Chop vegetables, measure ingredients and portion meat in advance,” Roofe said. “And don’t forget to pack a meat thermometer.”

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