Safe Summer Salads

Picnic time is here. It’s time to pack up all those great homemade foods and salads and head for the great outdoors to enjoy the beautiful summer weather. Today, restaurant patrons and picnickers alike continue to suffer from food borne illnesses related to improper preparation and refrigeration techniques used to prepare and serve outdoor summer meals. Many picnic foods contain large quantities of protein, (eggs, tuna, ham and other meats are examples of high protein foods), and therefore can support rapid growth of disease causing bacteria.

Simple steps for preparing and serving safe summer salads:

• Prechill (to 45°F or less) all salad ingredients before mixing them together
  Make sure all potatoes, tuna, eggs and mayonnaise are cold. Cook potatoes, macaroni and eggs one day ahead (quick rinsing is not adequate). Prechill canned tuna overnight in your refrigerator. Cool other ingredients overnight in the refrigerator in shallow pans.
• Use cold celery, peppers, onions etc.
• Use cold rinsed shrimp.
• Use cold refrigerated mayonnaise. Mayonnaise by itself is not the cause of food related illness. It is the tuna, ham or eggs that may contain organisms that give people the queasy, upset stomach, often followed by vomiting and diarrhea.
• Mix all cold ingredients just prior to service time, NOT a day ahead.
• DO NOT use your hands to mix tuna or other salads. If a large spoon is not effective, use food grade gloves to avoid touching the food. (After mixing the cold salad ingredients, immediately refrigerate the salad in small, shallow pans).
• Transport all your cold picnic salads in a cold ice chest with cold packs to keep those cold foods cold on hot summer days.
• Do Not transport your salads in the same cooler with the raw meats. The prepared salads will not be cooked and may contain bacteria from the meat juices. Use separate coolers for raw meats and ready to eat foods.
• Prechill your insulated cooler. If possible place your cooler in the refrigerator over night with the lid off for chilling. Place enough cold packs in the cooler to keep all the food cold.

MAKING SANDWICHES? - USE COLD BREAD

 
For more information contact Carol Chase at the Tompkins County Health Department, Environmental Health Division, 607-274-6688.