Food Safety: Around the country, people tend to cook more of their meals on outdoor grills during summer’s hottest months.
It keeps the kitchen cooler while you still get to have a hot meal. Before you cook your parents’ favorite meals on the grill, make sure you keep food safety in mind.
Keep Cold Foods Cold and Hot Foods Hot
One of the most important aspects of food preparation and serving is to make sure cold foods stay cold and hot foods stay hot. If you have a pasta salad with eggs and mayo and let it sit at room temperature, you increase the risk of food poisoning.
The same is true with cooked foods. Once you’ve grilled some chicken, you can’t store it on the counter. It has to be served hot and refrigerated or frozen once portions have been served.
Cook to the Right Temperatures
Make sure that meats, fish, and poultry are cooked to appropriate temperatures. If you undercook meat, food poisoning is possible. Chicken and turkey (even ground) need to be cooked to 165 degrees F. Pork needs to be a minimum of 145 degrees F. Fish also requires a temperature of 145. Beef depends on if it is a steak or ground beef. Ground meats need to be at least 160.
Protect Foods From Insect Pests
During an outside meal, flies will be hanging around. Ensure they don’t get onto cooked foods and lay their eggs or taste-test the items you’ve made. As part of the digestion process, flies regurgitate on food. Your parents don’t want to eat foods contaminated with bacteria, viruses, and parasites.
Put Away Leftovers in a Timely Manner
Make sure you put leftovers away. Ideally, you want to move things to the refrigerator after people have been served. If that’s not possible, it must happen within two hours.
Check for Recalls and Food Safety Alerts
Every day, there are food recalls and safety alerts. Some of them are not too concerning if your parents don’t have food allergies. Others can be dangerous.
For example, there is a recent food alert for kimchi because of wheat allergens, which isn’t a big deal if your parents are okay with wheat. There’s also a warning for a smoked fish product that contains listeria, which can be dangerous for older adults. Sign up for food safety alerts from the FDA.
In-home care services also help your parents with food safety. Make sure your parents have nutritious meals and snacks that aren’t putting their health at risk. With elderly care aides helping with safe food storage, meal preparation, and proper cooking temperatures, you don’t have to worry about your parents falling ill from food poisoning.
If you or an aging loved-one is considering Live-In Home Care in Burr Ridge, IL, please contact the caring staff at Suburban Home Care today. 630-964-9000
There are several great reasons why Suburban Home Care® should be your choice for quality homecare. All of our Certified Nursing Assistants and Home Health Aides are screened, trained, bonded and insured.
Every family needs to be aware that almost every Homeowner’s insurance policy specifically excludes anyone working within your home. If the person you hire becomes injured while working for you, you will become personally responsible for all of their medical bills. This has left several families very vulnerable when their caregiver injured themselves at their home.
The potential to lose everything you have worked so hard to achieve seems an unnecessary risk. Every one of Suburban Home Care®’s employees are completely covered by insurance so you and your loved ones can relax knowing that if something unforeseen happens to your caregiver, they are completely covered by insurance.
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