Food Smarts - Happy Summer: Let's Stay Safe at Cookouts

by Juliet Bodinetz-Rich, Executive Director

Bilingual Hospitality Training Solutions

I went to a cookout recently and personally observed many critical errors. I sometimes joke with my students, “Do as I say, not as I do.” On this day I found myself correcting situations at the cookout hosted by someone I considered to be “in the know” on food safety. This reconfirmed the truth that food safety guidelines might not change significantly from year to year but they do always need to be practiced. Cookouts are fun, but sometimes we are in such a rush to make a lovely meal, that we don’t pay attention to the obvious, as we are not in our comfort zone … our indoor restaurant or home kitchen. 

At this cookout, I observed carrying of raw meat on a plate to the outdoors with raw meat juice dripping off the plate across the counter top and onto the floor. I observed the coals being too hot before the steaks were put on the grill and this led to the steaks catching on fire and turning black on the grill, but remaining raw internally. In the urgency to get the flaming steaks off of the grill, they were nearly put back on the original plate with raw meat juices. The other raw steaks were put back in the fridge until the coals were not so hot. The problem is that they were put on the top shelf above ready-to-eat foods. My observations really hit home first hand that cross contamination is a major culprit that could lead to foodborne illness when cooking outdoors. 

Food safety has to be practiced in every step in the flow of the food. Whether as a professional cook or as a home cook, we have to always strive to avoid the three leading factors that contribute to foodborne illnesses. No matter: indoors or outdoors; we still have to: 

• Control Time and Temperature
• Avoid Cross Contamination
• Practice Good Personal Hygiene

Here are our suggestions this year for Safe Outdoors Grilling and Serving Food:

1)   To Control Time and Temperature:

• First, BUY a thermometer like you have in your restaurant kitchen!
• Check food temperatures at the minimum every four hours if it’s being held.
• When holding or displaying food – discard food at the minimum at four hours if the temperature is measuring inside the Temperature Danger Zone (41°F - 135°F).
• USE the thermometer! Meat can look cooked, but still be undercooked.
• Cook foods to the proper temperatures on the grill: 
• 165°F - Poultry
• 155°F - Ground Meats/Ground Fish & Marinated Meats/Marinated Fish
• 145°F – Meats (any meat with no wings, i.e. beef, lamb, pork, veal) and fish
• Keep food under refrigeration until ready to grill.
• Prepare small batches of food at a time.
• Keep food on ice or under refrigeration whenever possible. 
• Display smaller quantities of food and replenish from refrigeration as needed. At the minimum, consider having the food displayed indoors for service to avoid being in higher temperatures outside.

2)   To Avoid Cross Contamination:

·         Clean hands! Wash your hands when dirty and before touching a new food.

·         Consider holding/carrying raw meats in a pan versus a plate outside. The pan has sides that will contain raw meat juices so they don’t spill and drip on other surfaces as you are trying to carry it out of the kitchen

·         Make sure all surfaces that touch food are clean and sanitized.

·         Consider using color coded equipment. Besides color coded cutting boards, consider using color coded tongs. This can help you distinguish to use one set of tongs for raw food and another color coded set of tongs for the cooked food.

·         DON’T use the same plate to bring out the raw meats to serve the cooked meats.

·         Don’t store raw meat under refrigeration above ready-to-eat foods.

·         Don’t use the same marinade to baste that you used to marinate meats and fish. Why not reserve a portion of your marinade separate, so you can use it to baste pre-marinated meats or seafood during the cooking process that has not been contaminated by raw meat juices in the marinating process? 

·         Don’t use the same ice that was used to keep food or drinks cold in your drinks.

·         Keep washing your hands! … especially, when changing food handling tasks or after tasting food with your hands and licking your fingers.

·         Keep the food covered as much as possible. We don’t want flies leaving their business on our food. Use lids, plastic wrap/tin foil or consider purchasing the netted covers.

·         Remember to put a serving utensil in each individual dish for serving.

·         Provide clean plates to your guests for second portions.

3)   Practice Proper Personal Hygiene:

·         Wash Your Hands.

I had a lot of fun at the cookout and appreciate all of the host’s efforts to make it so lovely but, I wonder now … ”Will I ever be invited to another cookout after this article?”

Juliet Bodinetz-Rich is the executive director of Bilingual Hospitality Training Solutions and has over 25 years industry and training experience. Her team of instructors’ specialty is food safety, alcohol training and ServSafe training in English or in Spanish and writing HACCP Plans in the Baltimore and Washington D.C. Metro Area. www.bilingualhospitality.com, juliet@bilingualhospitality.com or 443-838-7561. For Latest Food Safety Tips: Become a Fan on Facebook or Twitter: @BHTS