Memorial Day usually brings friends and family over for long-weekend cookouts. Hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, fruit and more can be served and enjoyed by all! However, it is important to practice food safety, especially as the weather heats up, to avoid anyone getting sick this holiday weekend.
The four key components of food safety that we want to remember are cook, chill, clean and separate.
Cook: We want to make sure that meats are properly cooked all the way through. The only way to be sure that meat is properly cooked is by using a meat thermometer. The color of the meat is not always a reliable indicator. Steaks and pork chops should be cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 145 degrees, ground beef to 160 degrees, chicken and turkey to 165 degrees and fish and seafood to 145 degrees. To check the temperature, insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the meat. It must reach at least the minimum safe temperature for at least 15 seconds.
Chill: We want to make sure that any food requiring refrigeration gets into the fridge within 2 hours of sitting at room temperature. If it is hot outside (over 90 degrees), it needs to be in the fridge within 1 hour.
Clean: Washing our hands before eating and cooking is the top way to prevent foodborne illness! We also want to make sure that we are washing our cutting boards, knives, hands and any other surfaces that came into contact with raw meat with soap and hot running water. We also want to rinse our fruits and vegetables under cool running water before eating them.
Separate: Keep raw meat separate from fruits and vegetables to avoid cross-contamination. Use separate cutting boards, knives and utensils for raw meat and vegetables. When storing meat in the fridge, always store it as close to the bottom of the fridge as possible, not over the fruits and vegetables, in case any of the juices drip.
For more food safety information, check out these summer cookout tips from the USDA!
Have a safe and happy Memorial Day!
