Summer is the peak season for food poisoning, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The warm temperatures make it easy for chilled foods to enter the temperature danger zone and for foodborne bacteria to multiply. If you’re preparing and serving food outdoors or transporting foods for service outside of your facility, take some extra precautions when storing, thawing and transporting animal proteins. Store raw meat, poultry and seafood separately from (and/or below) other foods when refrigerating – and keep them refrigerated until ready to grill. When transporting these items, keep them at 40°F or cooler. These foods should be thawed in the refrigerator, in cold water or in the microwave – never on the counter. The intense heat people are experiencing in many parts of the country this summer, along with ongoing labor shortages and supply chain challenges, require some extra vigilance when to comes to food safety. Trucks may be taking longer to get foods to their destinations, providing more opportunities for food to be exposed to the temperature danger zone – particularly in record-breaking heat. Take extra care right now in checking deliveries to ensure food is being delivered at safe temperatures, is labeled with expected use-by dates, and shows no evidence of damage or decay (e.g. unsealed packaging or evidence of pests or freezer burn). Also be aware of foods that may be dangerous to eat due to the temperature spikes in parts of the country. You may well be freezing more foods lately amid the uncertainty in the food supply chain and in your customer numbers. Take care to thaw these foods carefully – items left on the counter to thaw may seem frozen even when their outer layer is well within the temperature danger zone (between 40 and 140°F). The USDA advises operators to use only three methods for thawing foods: refrigerating, submerging in cold water and microwaving. The latter two methods are fastest but require more vigilance: When submerging an item in cold water, ensure you use a leak-proof plastic bag to prevent contamination and change the water every 30 minutes. When microwaving, cook the item immediately after thawing in case parts of the food have been partially cooked (and may be in the danger zone).
Serving seafood this season? Take care to thaw it properly. The FDA advises you thaw any frozen seafood overnight in the refrigerator but if you have limited time, seal it in a plastic bag and immerse it in cold water. Alternatively, you can thaw it in the microwave on the defrost setting. Just make sure you stop the defrosting while the fish is flexible but still icy.
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