Be ‘Food Safe’ – even at the barbecue

  • Published
  • By Kevin L. Robinson
  • DeCA public affairs specialist
FORT LEE, Va --   Millions of military members enjoy socializing and eating their food outside at a barbecue. But good food, good company and good fun can become tragic if people get sick from something they ate.

In April, during the first of two semiannual food safety and awareness campaigns, the Defense Commissary Agency is reminding its shoppers to stay true to the theme of "Barbecuing - The Food Safe Way." As they prepare to grill their meals, the commissary agency is encouraging "grill masters" to stay alert to proper food handling techniques.

"There's nothing like grilling outside, but we want our customers to walk away from the barbecue with fond memories not food-borne illnesses," said Army Col. David R. Schuckenbrock, DeCA's director of health and safety. "Being 'food safe' must be a habit for everyone to practice - inside or outside."

To help emphasize that habit, commissaries in April will be working with their local military health organizations to help educate their communities on proper food safety. This year, DeCA is applying the tenets of the Be Food Safe program - clean, separate, cook and chill - to the outdoor barbecue. Commissary customers can expect to see store displays and handouts to help prevent food-borne illnesses as they dust off their grills to move their kitchens outside.

"Our mission, and a coordinated effort with our military health inspectors, sets us apart from civilian grocery stores," said Joseph H. Jeu, DeCA director and CEO. "Through this campaign in April, and again in September, our goal is to help raise our customers' awareness of safe food handling procedures."

Schuckenbrock said that anyone planning a barbecue should first consider the following basic food safety tips:

· Be clean. Before cooking or eating - and definitely after using the bathroom - wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
· Separate the food. Keep raw food apart from cooked food. That means use one plate or container exclusively for raw meat, poultry or seafood when moving food to the grill and another entirely for the cooked product unless the carrier has been washed thoroughly in soap and water. Also, keep cooking utensils and cooking surfaces clean from potential cross contamination.
· Marinate in refrigerator. Any food that is marinating should be covered and kept in a refrigerator until ready to cook. Also, don't reuse marinade containing raw meat.
· Cook it completely. This means you cannot take shortcuts on the amount of time it takes to thoroughly cook meat. Use a food thermometer to ensure meat is ready to eat. For example, ground beef and pork should be cooked at 160 F, chicken at 165 F and steaks and roast at 145 F. You can use your microwave, oven or stove to precook the food immediately before placing it on the grill.
· Chill and freeze - immediately. Food should never be off the grill or out of the cooler for more than two hours. And, when the outside temperature is hotter than 90 F, food can only be left out for an hour.
· Hot, hot, hot. Keep hot food wrapped, insulated in a container and at or above 140 F. Eat hot take-out food within two hours of purchase. When reheating food on the grill, make sure it reaches 165 F.
· Keep it cold. If it's meant to be cold, it needs to stay that way at or below 40 F. Chicken salad and desserts can be placed on ice in coolers. Remember to drain the water from melted ice in those coolers and replace ice as necessary.

For more information on eating food outside or handling food safely outdoors, visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm109899.htm.

For more information on food safety, visit the DeCA Web site, http://www.commissaries.com, and click on the "Stay Informed" section to find out about any recalls specifically affecting products sold in commissaries.

The DeCA Web site's food safety page is also a good source to access links to various consumer safety sites such as the Food and Drug Administration's Web site, http://www.recalls.gov. For more information on Be Food Safe, go to http://www.befoodsafe.org/.