May 11, 2009

Ready to Celebrate

          A popular way to celebrate graduations or any party occasion is to invite friends and family to a buffet.  Buffets make it possible for guests to come and go to the other open house events they have been invited to and for the host and hostess to visit with their guests instead of being trapped in the kitchen.  However, this type of food service where foods are left out for long periods leave the door open for uninvited guests — bacteria that cause foodborne illness.  Here are some tips from the USDA's Meat and Poultry Hotline to help you have a fun and food safe party.

Safe Food Handling
Always, always wash your hands before and after handling food. Keep your kitchen, dishes and utensils clean also.  Serve food on clean plates — not those previously holding raw meat and poultry. Otherwise, bacteria which may have been present in raw meat juices can cross contaminate the food to be served.

Cook Thoroughly
          If you are cooking foods ahead of time for your party, be sure to cook foods thoroughly to safe minimum internal temperatures.

Beef, veal, and lamb steaks, roasts, and chops must be cooked to 145 °F.

All cuts of pork to 160 °F.

Ground beef, veal and lamb to 160 °F.

All poultry should reach a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F.

Use Shallow Containers
          Divide cooked foods into shallow containers to store in the refrigerator or freezer until serving. This encourages rapid, even cooling. Reheat hot foods to 165 °F. Arrange and serve food on several small platters rather than on one large platter. Keep the rest of the food hot in the oven (set at 200-250 °F) or cold in the refrigerator until serving time. This way food will be held at a safe temperature for a longer period of time. Replace empty platters rather than adding fresh food to a dish that already had food in it.

Keep Hot Foods HOT And Cold Foods COLD
          Hot foods should be held at 140 °F or warmer. On the buffet table you can keep hot foods hot with chafing dishes, slow cookers, and warming trays. Cold foods should be held at 40 °F or colder. Keep foods cold by nesting dishes in bowls of ice. Otherwise, use small serving trays and replace them frequently.

Foodborne Bacteria
          Bacteria are everywhere but a few types especially like to crash parties.

Staphylococcus aureus
          Staphylococcus ("staph") bacteria are found on our skin, in infected cuts and pimples, and in our noses and throats. They are spread by improper food handling. Prevention includes washing hands and utensils before preparing and handling foods and not letting prepared foods — particularly cooked and cured meats and cheese and meat salads — sit at room temperature more than two hours.