Summertime is finally upon us, and that means planning outdoor picnics and barbecues and eating your favorite foods like grilled burgers, potato salad and fresh fruit.

Enjoying these foods is a great part of summer, but make sure to consider food safety in your party planning.

Foodborne illnesses tend to increase during the summer months because bacteria multiply faster in warmer temperatures. 

Here are some tips to keep your food safe and your stomach full!

Before you start the grill, ensure it’s clean and wash your hands. Unwashed hands are a prime cause of foodborne illness.

If you clean your grill with a bristle brush, check for and remove detached bristles that might find their way into the food you are grilling.    

Keep meat, poultry and seafood refrigerated until you’re ready to grill. If you’re transporting them to your family barbecue, keep them tightly wrapped in an insulated cooler and use ice or frozen gel packs to keep them below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Avoid cross contamination with other foods that will not be cooked, like lettuce, cold salads and desserts. 

And always wash your hands after handling raw meat!

When it’s time to cook, grab your meat thermometer. It’s important for meat to reach the correct internal temperature for at least three minutes to kill all bacteria.

Chicken should be cooked until it reaches a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Hamburgers should be a minimum internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Seafood should reach a minimum internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit.

To correctly take the temperature of ground beef burgers and not miss cold spots, insert the food thermometer through the side of the patty in the thickest part, until the probe reaches the center. 

Be careful of cross contamination with plates and utensils used for raw meats. 

Keep those utensils separate from those used for cooked food items.

If you are adding frozen vegetables to your salads this summer, be sure to pre-cook them to 165 degrees Fahrenheit, or as directed on the packaging. 

Wash all fresh vegetables and fruits, including melons. Scrub the outside of the melons with soapy water, if needed, to remove any dirt. 

It is important to wash melons, as any bacteria on the outside of the melon could transfer to the inside of the melon with the cutting knife. 

Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. This is critical!

Bacteria grow fastest in the temperature range of 40 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Leaving food out for more than two hours, or one hour if outdoor temperatures are above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, can cause bacteria to grow to dangerous levels that can cause illness.

Always pack up your leftovers promptly and refrigerate them to enjoy later.

Be sure to reheat them to a minimum of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Dining al fresco is a great way to enjoy summertime. Just be sure to follow a few important food safety tips to keep you and your family healthy and enjoying these great foods all summer long.

About the author: Cinda Stricklen is vice president of quality and food safety at Lakeside Foods. She joined Lakeside Foods in April 2021 after overseeing product quality and safety at several leading U.S. food manufacturers. She has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in food science from the University of Arkansas.

Lakeside Foods is a supplier of high-quality frozen and canned foods to the retail, food service and industrial sectors. Since its beginning in 1887 as a small pea-canning plant, Lakeside Foods has expanded to 14 production facilities, producing canned and frozen vegetables, canned meat, smoked sausage and hot dogs, canned dry beans, frozen desserts, appetizers and canned pet food that are distributed in 14 countries. Lakeside Foods manages its vegetable growing and harvesting operations through a network of regional farmers. The company is family owned and based in Manitowoc.