Cooking for Groups:
A Volunteer's Guide to Food Safety

FN-585, June 2001
                                                  Reviewed December 2006

Julie Garden-Robinson, PhD, LRD
Food and Nutrition Specialist

Introduction
Foodborne Illness: What you need to know
Fight BAC!
When You Plan, Shop and Store Food
When You Prepare Food
When You Cook
Recommended Cooking Temperatures
Danger Zone
When You Chill or Transport Food
When You Reheat Food
When You Keep Food Hot or Cold
When You Serve Food
When You Finish Up
Additional Information

The goal of this publication is to help volunteers prepare and serve food safely for large groups such as family reunions, church dinners, and community gatherings — whether the food is prepared at the volunteer's home and brought to the event, or prepared and served at the gathering.

The information provided in this publication was developed as a guide for consumers who are preparing food for large groups. Foodservice personnel should be aware that this guide was prepared for consumer use only. Foodservice personnel should contact their local, district or state health department for information on the rules and regulations governing the preparation of food in retail or institutional settings. "Food Safety Basics" (FN-572) is available from county offices of the North Dakota State University Extension Service and is based on FDA and North Dakota Food Code guidelines.

Adapted from a publication by the United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service

Food that is mishandled can cause very serious consequences for all, especially infants, the elderly, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems. For this reason it is important that volunteers be especially careful when preparing and serving food to large groups.

Foodborne Illness: What You Need To Know

What Is Foodborne Illness?

Foodborne illness often presents itself as flu-like symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or fever, so many people may not recognize the illness is caused by bacteria or other pathogens in food.

Thousands of types of bacteria are naturally present in our environment. Not all bacteria cause disease in humans. For example, some bacteria are used beneficially in making cheese and yogurt.

Bacteria that cause disease are called pathogens. When certain pathogens enter the food supply, they can cause foodborne illness. Millions of cases of foodborne illness occur each year. Most cases of foodborne illness can be prevented. Proper cooking or processing of foods destroys bacteria.

Age and physical condition place some persons at higher risk than others, no matter what type of bacteria is implicated. Very young children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems are at greatest risk from any pathogen. Some persons may become ill after ingesting only a few harmful bacteria; others may remain symptom free after ingesting thousands.

How Bacteria Get in Food

Bacteria may be present on products when you purchase them. Plastic-wrapped boneless chicken and ground meat, for example, were once part of live chickens or cattle. Raw meat, poultry, and eggs are not sterile. Neither is fresh produce such as lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, and melons.

Foods, including safely cooked, ready-to-eat foods, can become cross-contaminated with bacteria transferred from raw products, meat juices or other contaminated products or from food handlers with poor personal hygiene.

Some of the leading causes of foodborne illness outbreaks include:

• Failure to cool food properly
• Food not hot enough
• Infected food handlers
• Preparation a day or more ahead of time
• Raw food mixed with cooked
• Food left in the danger zone (41^o to 140^oF)
• Leftover food not reheated high enough
• Cross contamination

In Case of Suspected Foodborne Illness

Follow these general guidelines:

• Preserve the evidence. If a portion of the suspect food is available, wrap it securely, mark "DANGER," and freeze it. Save all packaging materials, such as cans or cartons. Write down the food type, the date, other identifying marks on the package, the time consumed, and when the onset of symptoms occurred. Save any identical unopened products.
• Seek treatment as necessary. If the victim is in an "at risk" group, seek medical care immediately. Likewise, if symptoms persist or are severe (such as bloody diarrhea, excessive nausea and vomiting, or high temperature), call your doctor.
• Call the local health department if the suspect food is served at a large gathering, from a restaurant or other foodservice facility, or if it is a commercial product.
• Call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline (1-800-535-4555) if the suspect food is a USDA-inspected product and you have all the packaging.

Fight BAC!™

When preparing for your special event, remember that there may be an invisible enemy ready to strike. It's called BAC (bacteria) and it can make you sick. But by following four simple steps, you have the power to Fight BAC!™ and keep your food safe. (larger graphic -- 17KB gif illustration)

Clean -- Wash hands and surfaces often.
Separate -- Don't cross contaminate.
Cook -- Cook to proper temperatures.
Chill -- Refrigerate promptly.

Fight BAC!™ is a consumer educational campaign sponsored by the Partnership for Food Safety Education. The Partnership is a public-private partnership of industry, government, and consumer groups created to educate the public about safe food handling to help reduce foodborne illness.

You can find more information about Fight BAC!™ at www.fightbac.org.

When You Plan

Select a reliable person to be in charge. The person-in-charge should contact the local health department for information about the rules and regulations governing preparation and serving of food for groups. The person- in-charge should provide instructions to the volunteers, answer questions, and oversee the preparations, service, and cleanup of the event.

Make sure you have the right equipment, including cutting boards, utensils, food thermometers, cookware, shallow containers for storage, soap, and paper towels.

For outdoor events, make sure you have a source of clean water. If none is available at the site, bring water for cleaning of hands, utensils, and food thermometers. Develop a plan for transporting equipment for cleanup after the event.

Plan ahead to ensure that there will be adequate storage space in the refrigerator and freezer.

When You Shop

Do not purchase canned goods that are dented, cracked or bulging. These are the warning signs that dangerous bacteria may be growing in the can.

Separate raw meat, poultry, and seafood from other foods in your grocery-shopping cart and in your refrigerator.

Buy cold foods last. Drive immediately home or to the site from the grocery store. If the destination is more than 30 minutes away, bring a cooler with ice or commercial freezing gels from home and place perishables in it.

When You Store Food

Make sure you set the refrigerator temperature to 40°F and the freezer to 0°F. Check these temperatures with an appliance thermometer.

Refrigerate or freeze perishables, prepared foods, and leftovers within two hours of shopping or preparing. Place raw meat, poultry, and seafood in containers in the refrigerator, to prevent their juices from dripping on other foods. Raw juices may contain harmful bacteria.

When You Prepare Food

Wash hands and surfaces often. Bacteria can be spread throughout the kitchen and get onto cutting boards, utensils, and counter tops. To prevent this:

• Wash hands with soap and hot water before and after handling food, and after using the bathroom, changing diapers, or handling pets.
• Use paper towels or clean cloths to wipe up kitchen surfaces or spills. Wash cloths often in the hot cycle of your washing machine.
• Wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils, and counter tops with hot, soapy water after preparing each food item and before you go on to the next item. A solution of about one teaspoon bleach in 1 quart of water may be used to sanitize washed surfaces and utensils.

When cutting boards are used:

• Always use a clean cutting board.
• If possible, use one cutting board for fresh produce and a separate one for raw meat, poultry, and seafood.
• Once cutting boards become excessively worn or develop hard-to-clean grooves, you should replace them.

Never defrost food at room temperature. Thaw food:

• In the refrigerator.
• In the microwave (followed by immediate cooking).

Food may also be thawed in cold water. Be sure that the sink or container that holds food is clean before submerging food. Two methods may be used when thawing:

• Completely submerge airtight wrapped package. Change water every 30 minutes.
• Completely submerge airtight wrapped food in constantly running cold water.

Refrigerate or cook food immediately after thawing.

Marinades may be used to tenderize or add flavor to food. When using marinades:

• Always marinate food in the refrigerator, not on the counter.
• Use food-grade plastic, stainless steel, or glass containers to marinate food.
• Sauce that is used to marinate raw meat, poultry, fish or seafood should not be used on cooked foods, unless it is boiled before applying.
• Never reuse marinades for other foods.

Discard any leftover batter or breading after it has come in contact with raw food.

Prepare stuffing and place in poultry cavity or in pockets of thick sliced meat or poultry just before roasting.

Wash fruits and vegetables with cool tap water before use. Thick-skinned produce may be scrubbed with a brush. Do not use soap.

Food should not be tasted until it reaches a safe internal temperature as measured with a food thermometer. Use a clean utensil each time you taste food; otherwise you may contaminate the food.

FN-585, June 2001
                Reviewed December 2006