Take the Summer Food Safety Quiz
When the weather warms, people like to enjoy the outdoors by cooking and eating outside. Bacteria grow quickly at warm temperatures, so we need to take precautions to keep food safe.
1. Cross-contamination occurs when one food can make another food unsafe because of the transfer of bacteria from one food to another. In which of the following examples might cross-contamination occur?
a. Storing a package of cookies and a container of lemonade mix in the same picnic basket.
b. Storing a package of raw meat on top of beverage cans in a cooler filled with ice.
c. Using the same cutting board to cut up pieces of chicken and a separate cutting board to cut up watermelon.
2. The temperature is 92 F, and you have placed a bowl of potato salad on a picnic table. How long will the food stay safe at this temperature?
a. 30 minutes
b. 60 minutes
c. 120 minutes
*Note: To help ensure safety, serve the salad bowl nested in ice.
3. True or False: You should not partly cook meat at home and then finish cooking the meat at a picnic site later that day. (See the tip of the month for more information.)
4. To what internal temperature should you cook chicken, as measured with a food thermometer?
a. 145 F
b. 155 F
c. 165 F
d. 175 F
5. True or False: Always use a clean plate or tray (not the plate or tray that held the raw meat) when retrieving food from the grill.
6. To what internal temperature should you cook burgers (ground beef) as measured with a food thermometer?
a. 150 F
b. 160 F
c. 170 F
d. 180 F
7. True or False: You always should marinate foods in the refrigerator - never on the kitchen counter or outdoors.
Answers: 1. b; 2. b; 3. True; 4. c; 5. True; 6. b.; 7. True
How did you do?
- Six or seven correct: You're a food safety pro!
- Four or five correct: Good job but review the rules before your next picnic.
- Three or fewer correct: You can do better. Please check out the food safety resources on our website.
Julie Garden-Robinson, Food and Nutrition Specialist, NDSU Extension Service
Featured in the Food Wi$e June 2017 Newsletter (PDF)