USDA: Don’t Let Food Poisoning Sack Your Super Bowl Party

The NFL season wraps up this weekend with Super Bowl 54 down in Miami.  And there’s no better way to celebrate this unofficial holiday than with a Super Bowl party.  Whether it’s just a few friends, or it’s a massive get together, the USDA says it’s important to play offense, to stave off food borne illnesses.

Maribel Alonso with the USDA’s Meat and Poultry hotline says to ensure safe snacks, remember to: Clean, Separate, Cook and Chill.

Start off, she noted, by cleaning your prep space thoroughly, and remember, the counter top is not the only place bacteria can hide.

“A lot of people do say that they wash their hands, but they don’t wash them properly.  So, we want to make sure people remember that they have to wash their hands, with warm water and soap, for at least 20 seconds.  That way we can ensure they are properly clean.”

From there, we move to Separate, don’t used one surface to prepare different types of snacks, especially if you’re preparing raw meats and vegetables.  Then it’s important to cook your food thoroughly, ensure your burgers and chicken wings are done properly by using a meat thermometer.

Then comes the chill part; when do you need to move your snacks from the dining room to the fridge?  Alonso said if the food is perishable, the limit is two hours.

“Two hours is the limit, we call it the two-hour rule.  So a good thing to keep in mind is maybe once you have all of those foods laying on the table and people start watching the game, be mindful that maybe at halftime you have to put away all of that food.  Just to make sure that it stays safe.”

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