June 7, 2001

Prairie Fare: Perfect Picnics

By Julie Garden-Robinson, Food and Nutrition Specialist
NDSU Extension Service

On a warm day with a gentle breeze, who can resist a picnic? Unfortunately there are a number of pests that try to foil our best attempts at perfect picnics. Troops of ants march, ready to invade. Flies buzz by, alerting all their friends of the upcoming gourmet feast. Squadrons of mosquitoes the size of helicopters swarm overhead, waiting to attack their relaxing human banquets.

Insects aside, the worst threats to great picnics are the "bugs" we can’t see. Bacteria, like Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, Listeria and Staphylococcus, are invisible enemies that exert their effects a few hours to a few days after the meal. If you’re lucky, you only end up with flu-like symptoms that last a couple of days.

Young children and infants, pregnant women, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems are among the most vulnerable to food poisoning, or foodborne illness. In fact, every year, about one in four Americans falls victim to the food they eat. Of those sickened, 5,000 die annually. Cases of foodborne illness tend to peak during warm summer months when people head outdoors to cook and eat.

Warm temperatures are bacteria’s best friend. In fact some bacteria can double in number every 10-20 minutes. What can you do to hold bacterial numbers down and help keep you, your family and your friends safe from bouts of foodborne illness? Start by thinking about the most basic of rules – "keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold."

Safety begins at the grocery store. Buy your perishable items like meat, salads and milk products last and get them home quickly. While you can’t haul your refrigerator with you, there are a number of ways to keep cold foods cold. If you plan to transport foods to a lake cottage or distant destination, bring coolers and ice. The large blocks of ice available in many stores tend to resist melting better than cubes. Frozen gel ice packs are another option.

Cross contamination is a leading cause of foodborne illness cases, so pack raw meat and ready-to-eat foods like salads in separate coolers. Keep canned beverages separate from meats because the raw meat juices could contaminate the cans -- and eventually -- you. Since contaminated ice has been linked with a number of foodborne illness outbreaks, maintain a separate ice-filled cooler for use with beverages.

Hand washing is considered the single most important way to prevent the spread of bacteria. Spend at least 20 seconds at the sink scrubbing your hands thoroughly with soap and water. Time yourself. Twenty seconds is longer than you might think. If there are no hand washing facilities at the picnic site, bring a container of water and some soap from home, or at least some wet hand wipes. Hand sanitizers, such as hand gels, can cut down bacterial numbers, but they are not a substitute for good hand washing.

Avoid bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat foods by using clean utensils like tongs or other utensils to serve food. For example, put a spoon or set of tongs in the potato chip or tortilla chip bowl.

Bring along your food thermometer and use it to gauge doneness. Color is not a reliable indicator. Cook burgers to an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees, chicken breasts to 170 degrees, and fish until it’s opaque and flakes with a fork. Whole turkeys on the grill should reach at least 180 degrees in the thickest part. If you used a marinade, it’s safest to throw any leftover marinade, unless you are able to boil the marinade for several minutes.

One of the most common errors made by summertime food handlers is reusing the plate or pan that held the raw meat. Always use a clean plate for serving. Perishable foods should not be left at unprotected temperatures for more than one hour on warm days. It’s safest to serve food over a bed of ice to maintain temperature.

To protect food from the visible enemies of the winged variety, keep food protected with covers and immediately put away food after serving. Don’t spray pesticides around food.

What’s a picnic without coleslaw? Here’s a recipe from Dannon yogurt for a low-fat version of creamy coleslaw. Plain yogurt can be substituted for mayonnaise and sour cream to trim fat and add calcium to recipes. This recipe can be prepared in just a few minutes if you use pre-shredded coleslaw, which is available in most grocery stores.

A 1/2-cup serving contains 55 calories and 3 grams of fat.

Light and Easy Country Coleslaw

Ingredients:
3/4 cup low-fat or non-fat plain yogurt
1/4 cup. mayonnaise
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon each: celery seed and pepper
8 cups shredded cabbage
1 large carrot, shredded
2 green onions, thinly sliced

Procedure:
In large bowl, combine yogurt, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, salt, celery seed and pepper. Add cabbage, carrot and green onions and toss. Cover and chill at least 1 hour to blend flavors. Makes 16 servings, 1/2 cup each.

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Source: Julie Garden-Robinson, (701) 231-7187, jgardenr@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu