Summary
Food poisoning is a real risk when taking food
outside the home for packed lunches, picnics, camping, barbeques (BBQ s)
and other outdoor events, especially in warmer weather. High-risk foods for
contamination include meat, poultry, dairy products, eggs, small goods,
seafood, cooked rice and pasta. People more vulnerable to food poisoning
include children, the elderly, pregnant women and anyone with an illness, must
be control our self to feel recovery health.
Food poisoning is a real risk when taking food outside the home.
Taking food out of its regular environment such as the fridge, freezer, pantry
or clean kitchen for long periods of time can mean a greater risk of
contamination. Take extra care with packed lunches for work and school, picnics
and eating outdoors, especially in warm weather.
Eating outdoors and the risk of food poisoning
Eating outdoors is a great way to enjoy the Australian climate, but
it can bring added risks because:
- Bacteria grow more easily when food is stored in the
‘temperature danger zone’ of between 5 °C and 60 °C.
- Facilities for cleaning and hand washing may be inadequate,
and clean water is not always available.
- Food can be exposed to contamination from insects, pests,
animals and dust.
High-risk foods
Food poisoning bacteria grow more easily on some foods than others.
These high-risk foods include:
- Meat
- Poultry such as chicken and turkey
- Dairy products
- Eggs
- Small goods such as hams and salamis
- Seafood
- Cooked rice
- Cooked pasta
- Prepared salads like coleslaw's, pasta salads and rice salads
- Prepared fruit salads.
Standards
There are Food Authority (ANZFA) Draft Guidelines for Ready-to-Eat
Foods. See Table 1.
Table 1
*Pathogenic strain
of E. coli, such as E. coli O157, should be absent
**the detection of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods prepared
specifically for “at risk” population groups eg the elderly, pregnant women,
immunocompromised people and infants, should also be considered as potentially
hazardous
SET+VE = Staphylococcus enterotoxin positive
Some people are more at risk
Some people are more at risk of getting food poisoning than others.
Special care should be taken with their food. Vulnerable groups include:
- Pregnant women
- The elderly
- Young children
- People with chronic disease.
Home barbeque's and outdoor cooking
Some practical hints for keeping food safe to eat when you have a barbeque's at
home are:
- Keep the meat in the fridge until you are ready to start
cooking.
- Store raw meats and poultry separate from cooked items, and
underneath other food so that raw juices do not contaminate other food.
- Cook food to at least 75 °C. Use a meat thermometer to check
the final temperature. Using a thermometer is the best way to ensure that
meats are properly cooked. If you don’t have one, you should cook poultry
until the meat is white – there should be no pink flesh. Similarly, if
there is no thermometer, cook hamburgers, mince, sausages and other meats
right through until any juices run clear.
- Never buy cracked or dirty eggs and always thoroughly cook any
food made from eggs.
- Use a clean plate for all cooked meats – don’t re-use the same
plate or container that held raw meats. Don’t use the same equipment used
to cook raw food (such as tongs or forks) to handle cooked food.
- Take salads, pates, dips and other perishables outside only
when required, and return them to the fridge when that part of the meal is
finished.
- Throw out any high-risk food left in the temperature danger
zone for more than four hours. Don’t put it in the fridge and don’t leave
it for later.
- Cover food and keep birds, insects and animals away from it.
Preparing food for outdoors
When planning a picnic, making packed lunches or preparing for any other
occasion where you are eating away from home, be aware of the basic food safety
rule – keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. You should also:
- Store any raw meat in an insulated cooler, away from other
food.
- Cut and prepare all meats and salads beforehand to reduce the
need to handle foods when you are outdoors.
- Place containers with raw meat or other high-risk foods into
separate leak-proof containers and then into a cooler.
- Make sure all cooked foods are completely cooled before you
pack them in the cooler.
- Use plenty of ice or cold packs around the food. Frozen drinks
can serve as ice packs, especially in packed school lunches.
- Travel with the cooler on the floor of the car, out of
sunlight. Cover the cooler with a blanket for extra insulation.
Camping food safety tips
Perishable foods are generally unsuitable for camping unless you have access to
a fridge. It is best to take dry, UHT and canned products. Other tips for
camping include:
- If you want to take some meat with you, frozen meats can be
stored in a cooler with ice bricks for up to two days and per-cooked
meals, such as frozen stews, for up to one day.
- Cover the cooler with a wet bag to promote evaporative
cooling.
- Divide the food into meal-size portions and pack it according
to when you plan to eat it so that you can get what you need quickly.
- Make sure you cook or heat all food well, to at least 75 °C.
- Boil drinking water before use, or use disinfecting tablets.
General cleanliness tips
Cleanliness is always important, but it’s especially important when you’re
preparing food outside the home. Remember to:
- Wash your hands before and after handling raw foods. Wash your
hands with clean water and soap, and dry them with clean towels or
disposable towels.
- Consider using disposable wipes or a hand sanitiser if there
is no safe water.
- Keep the outdoor area or campsite as clean as possible.
- Keep food sealed and covered – birds, insects and animals can
be a source of food poisoning bacteria.
- Overall isolation rates for the 208 samples are given in Table
2.
Table 2
-
NA= Not applicable
Table 3 shows the occurrence of unsatisfactory results. On the
whole most samples were satisfactory for most organisms.
Table 3
NA= Not applicable
NA= Not applicable
Table 3 shows the occurrence of unsatisfactory results. On the
whole most samples were satisfactory for most organisms.
