Battle Plan for Food Safety

Earlier this month I introduced my article titled "Don't Let an Brownout Spoil Dinner." The article's premise was this: Rolling brownouts are predicted for California and the Western United States this summer. By staging your camp cooking gear on the deck, you'll be ready to cook gourmet meals when the lights go out.

But having the camp cookware ready is only half the battle. If you're not prepared to combat bacteria that cause food borne illness, you'll be cursing me along with the politicians. The battle plan is straight forward.

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Keep cold food cold. Chill cold foods to 41 degrees or lower. Leave food in the ice chest until it's needed. I use two ice chests on long trips (weekend or longer). One ice chest keeps the meal ingredients cold. Beverages go into the second ice chest. This way perishable food remains cool until needed without all of the in and out traffic.

Keep hot food hot. Keep food hot at 140 degrees or higher. If the meal is delayed, keep it hot in a warm Dutch oven with three or four charcoal briquettes on the lid. Otherwise, "keep your powder dry" by cooking the meal as close to mealtime as possible. Your campers, not the bacteria, will appreciate a hot meal.

Cook food properly. Bacteria loves camp cooks who don't follow regulations. If you don't cook food to the proper doneness, E. coli, and Salmonella and columns of others will march right into your gut. Heat kills bacteria before it grows to dangerous levels. This means cooking beef roasts and steaks to 145 degrees or higher; pork, ground beef and game meat to 155 or higher; poultry, fish and stuffed foods to 165 or higher.

Put food away within 2 hours. Bacteria grow rapidly when left in the danger zone for long periods of time. And don't leave hot or cold food out for very long. Leftovers are like battle-fatigued soldiers. They need a little rest and relaxation. See Article No. 8 for a complete guide to dealing with leftovers in camp.