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Hot Tips for Tailgating
Don't give bacteria a sporting chance at your football tailgate gathering.
Schnucks would like to remind our customers tailgating
requires the same safe food handling practices as summer picnicking.
It takes a good defense to keep harmful foodborne bacteria from
sending guests to the locker room. So, if you'll be tailgating make
sure you've got the right equipment to defeat bacteria. Keeping
food safe takes a team effort.
Follow the four food safety tips:
- Clean. Clean the food thermometer after use; and use clean serving plates, utensils, etc.
- Separate. Separate raw meat and poultry from cooked foods to avoid cross-contamination.
- Cook. Raw meat and poultry need to be cooked thoroughly.
- Chill. Store leftovers in the cooler within 2 hours.
The Game Plan
- Keeping food safe from home to stadium helps prevent foodborne illness. Include lots of clean utensils, not only for eating but also for serving the safely cooked food.
- Pack a food thermometer to check cooking temperatures.
- Keep hot food hot. If bringing hot take-out food, eat it within 2 hours of purchase. To keep food like soup, chili, and stew hot, use an insulated container. Fill the container with boiling water; let it stand for a few minutes, empty, and then put in the piping hot food.
- Carry cold perishable food like raw hamburger patties, sausages, and chicken in an insulated cooler packed with several inches of ice or frozen gel packs.
- When packing the cooler for an outing, be sure raw meat and poultry are wrapped securely to prevent their juices from cross-contaminating ready-to-eat food.
- Perishable cooked food such as luncheon meat, cooked meat, chicken, and potato or pasta salads must be kept cold.
- Bring water for cleaning. Pack clean, wet, disposable cloths or moist towelettes and paper towels for cleaning hands and surfaces.
The Play-by-Play
- At the tailgate party, it.s important to keep hot food hot and cold food cold. Bacteria multiply rapidly between 40 °F and 140 °F.
- Never leave food in this .danger zone. more than 2 hours (1 hour when the outside temperature is above 90 °F).
- Cook meat and poultry completely. Partial cooking of food ahead of time allows bacteria to multiply to the point that subsequent cooking cannot destroy them.
- Use a food thermometer to be sure foods are cooked thoroughly.
Cook hamburgers, sausage, brats, and hot dogs -160 °F
Poultry breast meat should be cooked to 170 °F, dark meat to 180 °F.
Whole birds .180 ºF
The Wrap-Up
- Store food in the cooler except for brief times when serving. Cook only the amount of food that will be eaten to avoid the challenge of keeping leftovers at a safe temperature.
- Discard any leftovers that are not ice cold after the game.
- Food should not be left out of the cooler or off the grill more than 2 hours (1 hour when the outside temperature is above 90 °F).
- Holding food at an unsafe temperature is a prime cause of foodborne illness.
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