Shelia Lewis: Smith County Extension

“Engage in regular physical activity”… this is one of the key recommendations from the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Having an active lifestyle can mean outings as a family for hiking, camping, and other recreational activities which often involve food. As we approach the warm summer months, be sure to handle food safely.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that there are 76 million cases of food borne illness resulting in 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths each year. Common symptoms of food borne illness include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, fever, and abdominal cramps.

The first step to food safety for outdoor activities is to plan ahead. Take some time to decide what you are going to eat and how you are going to cook it. These steps can help you determine what types of equipment you will need. You should also consider what you will have access to during your stay outdoors. Will you have water that is safe for drinking? Can you build a fire, use a grill, or use some type of portable stove to prepare foods?

However, if do plan to take along perishable foods, follow these suggestions to keep foods safe:

Place perishable foods in a cooler with plenty of ice. You may even consider placing a refrigerator thermometer in a plastic bag in the cooler. Make sure the cooler temperature remains at 40 degrees or less.

Try packing meat and poultry while it is still frozen to maintain the temperature. Also, full coolers will stay colder longer than one than is partially full.

When packing raw meats, keep these items separate from other ready to eat foods such as fruits and vegetables in the cooler.

Consider taking along two coolers – one for perishable foods which should only be opened when foods need to be prepared and another for drinks which will be opened more frequently.

In hot summer weather, it’s also important to remember that foods should not sit out for long periods of time. Generally speaking, you should discard any food left out more than two hours. However, if temperatures are greater than 90 degrees, food should not sit out any longer than one hour.

Finally, the most important food safety tip for outdoor fun is to wash your hands. “Hand washing is crucial to the prevention of food borne illness”. It’s best to wash your hands with warm, soapy water for 20 seconds. If running water is not available, use a disposable towelette to wipe hands clean. You may also consider a hand sanitizing solution which can reduce germs but will not eliminate any dirt or grime present.

Shelia Lewis is a Smith County Extension agent in family and consumer sciences. She can be reached at sk-lewis@tamu.edu. This column on family and consumer education news appears in the Thursday Community section of the Tyler Morning Telegraph

SHELIA LEWIS
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