Independence Day Cookout Tips

Author: be well™ with Big Y^® Registered Dietitian Team

As you travel (or host!) for the fourth of July holiday, keep food safety top of mind — and simple. Here are our team’s top tips for following the Four Core principles of food safety: Clean, Separate, Cook and Chill —especially when outdoor temperatures continue rising.

Declare Your Independence from Foodborne Illness

The number one way to prevent a foodborne illness is to keep your hands clean. That means washing hands before and after handling food, specifically when working with different raw meats. Additionally, be sure to use serving utensils when serving yourself food and wash your hands before (and after) eating. 

No running water? Pack hand wipes and hand sanitizer with you.

One more cleaning tip: Prepare foods on clean surfaces. This applies to grilling at a park, at the beach or in your grandfather’s backyard. Disinfectant wipes are a must to wipe down surfaces when on-the-go. But being practicable and using a clean paper plate (or travel cutting board) as a clean surface to work on for slicing and chopping breads, fruits and vegetables is a good food safety practice when in a pinch, too.

You’ve Got to Keep It Separated

Raw meats have the potential of carrying harmful bacteria and viruses that can lead to a foodborne illness. This means, raw meats need to stay free and clear not only from foods that won’t be cooked — such as chips, dips, breads, condiments, salads and desserts — they must not come into contact with other raw items that have different recommended internal cooking temperatures like hot dogs, fish filets, shellfish, pork loins, steaks and hamburgers.

When packing a cooler, keep raw meat separate and layer, intentionally, so items with higher recommended internal cooking temperatures are on the bottom. Layering will help to limit exposure to potential germs if a package of meat should leak onto another. To prevent possible leaks from contaminating other meats even further, wrap each item in its own gallon size food storage bag.

During cooking, be sure to properly wash spatulas and tongs with warm running water and soap (or replace with clean versions) in between touching raw meats and when they become fully cooked. Same goes for plate ware. Never reuse a plate that has held raw meat as the serving dish. Properly wash (or replace) plates before transferring cooked meat for serving.

Reach Grill Master Level with an Instant-Read Food Thermometer

Hitting the proper recommended internal cooking temperatures for raw meats and hot dogs can be the difference between being legendary for serving up a delicious BBQ or legendary for infecting guests with a foodborne illness. Let’s help you NOT be the latter, shall we?

 For most items, the best way to ensure you’re hitting the mark for proper cooking is to use an instant-read food thermometer versus sight or touch. Simply place a working thermometer (that has been calibrated, if needed) into the thickest part of the meat you’re preparing, without touching bone, and hold it there for at least 15 to 20 seconds to ensure temperatures are not only reached but held.¹ Find a listing of recommended safe internal temperatures of your favorite meats in our “Taking Al Fresco to Go” article.

For foods like shellfish, let color and texture changes be your markers. For example, once the flesh of shrimp, lobster and crab becomes pearly and opaque, scallops become milky white, opaque and firm and the shells pop open for mollusks like clams, oysters and mussels, is when the Partnership for Food Safety Education says they have reached their safe internal temperatures.²

Chill Baby, Chill

Become friends with ice packs…and lots of them. 😊 When you’re traveling to a party, with or without access to refrigeration, keeping cold foods cold from Point A to Point B is essential for keeping bacterial growth at bay.

What this looks like: Serve smaller portions on buffet tables, while keeping leftover portions in the refrigerator or packed in an insulated bag surrounded by frozen ice packs, and replenish serving dishes when needed. When cold foods are offered for serving, keep them on ice and replace ice when necessary as it melts. When outside temperatures are below 90 degrees Fahrenheit, your window of time to display foods (out of direct sunlight) is 2 hours. For hotter days (and in direct sunlight), this window of time shrinks to 1 hour, so plan accordingly!