Packing Your Picnic Cooler
In the excitement to enjoy a picnic, don't forget about food safety! It only takes a little planning to protect your family from food-borne illnesses. And we all know, nobody wants to get sick from a picnic!
Follow these tips for a healthy and fun outing:
- Wash your hands. When packing and handling food, clean hands will help prevent cross contamination of bacteria from uncooked to cooked foods. There are many hand sanitizing products (liquids/wipes) to pack for when clean, hot water is not available.
- Plastic water containers that have been frozen serve two purposes. They keep food and drinks cold and, as they melt, provide fresh water for drinking. Fill empty plastic containers with water from home. Fill approximately 1 to 2 inches from the top, to allow for expansion when the water freezes. Clean, plastic milk containers also work well for this purpose.
- Pack non-perishable foods separate from perishable foods. A laundry basket or large cardboard box makes it easy to find what you need.
- Beverage cooler: Pre-chill beverages before placing them in the cooler. Pre-cooling preserves ice, so you will need less ice to cool drinks down. Quickly chill beverages with crushed ice. As the ice melts, the cold water preserves the remaining ice and keeps beverages cold. Keep the cooler out of the sun and out of a hot car, finding a safe spot in a shaded area. Keep the cooler closed as much as possible to prevent cold air from escaping.
- Food cooler: Block ice keeps food cold for longer periods of time than crushed or cubed ice. Place block ice at the bottom of the cooler and then place perishable foods directly on the ice. Cover the foods with cubed ice. Pack foods directly from the refrigerator into the cooler. Keep foods dry and safe from cross contamination by placing in air tight bags or sealed plastic containers.
- A full cooler will maintain safer temperatures longer than a half empty cooler.
- Keep hot foods hot. Line your cooler with towels. Wrap hot casserole bowls containing hot foods with more towels and place in cooler. Not allowing for empty space will help keep foods hot.
- Bring more than one cutting board and do not prepare more than one type of meat on one cutting board. Do not place cooked meats on cutting boards used for preparing raw meats. The same is true for any other utensils that have been in contact with raw meat.
- A spray bottle with a mixture of 1 teaspoon of bleach and 1 quart of water is a safe sanitizer for such things as picnic tables and cutting boards after use. Allow the areas cleaned to air dry or dry with a clean paper towel rather than a cloth towel, which could re-contaminate the surface. Whenever possible, wash contaminated surfaces with hot soapy water, sanitize with bleach mixture, and rinse with clean water.
- If you're unsure of the cleanliness of the grill you will be using, cover with tinfoil and cut slits to allow heat to penetrate. A non-stick spray applied to the foil before heating will help prevent foods from sticking.
- Do not pre-cook meat and plan to finish the cooking at the picnic. Meat should be kept cold and cooked at the site to prevent bacteria growth.
- After you have returned home, throw away any leftovers that have become wet. Leftovers that have been left out for 1 hour on hot days should be discarded. When in doubt, throw it out.
- Wash the cooler with hot soapy water. Use kitchen ingredients, such as baking soda, to remove stains. To sanitize cooler, spray the inside with a mixture of 1 teaspoon. of liquid bleach to 1 quart of water. Let mixture sit for 10 minutes and wash again with clean water. Leave lid open for cooler to air dry before storing.
