Food Safety in a Covered Dish

Family night suppers and covered dish luncheons are frequent social events for many of us. But have you ever considered the safety of the food that you and others prepare at home and bring to these events? Let’s look at the following situations.

John’s office is having a potluck lunch to celebrate the promotion of one of his coworkers. The night before, John prepares his favorite potato salad recipe, which includes chopped eggs, and puts it in the refrigerator. In the morning he takes it to work at 8 a.m. and leaves it on his desk until the luncheon at noon. The next day everyone calls in sick. What did John do wrong?

Mary attends a covered dish lunch at her church. She prepares a meatloaf early in the morning, cooks it to a proper temperature and takes it out of the oven at 9 a.m. She covers it with foil and puts it on the counter while she finishes getting ready. At 10:30 she leaves for church and takes the meatloaf to the fellowship hall before going to the 11 o’clock service. She puts the meatloaf on the buffet table with all the other food items everyone has dropped off. After the service, she gets in line to eat. It is crowded and by the time Mary gets her plate it is 1 p.m. Later that evening, Mary (and probably lots of others) starts to feel ill. What did Mary do wrong?

The food handling mistakes described in these situations happen more frequently than we might like to think. Paying attention to two key food safety principles could help us avoid a foodborne illness in the future. The first principle relates to time. Perishable foods should not remain at room temperature for longer than two hours. If surrounding air temperatures are above 85 degrees, such as at an outdoor picnic, then the food should not sit out for more than one hour. John’s potato salad and Mary’s meatloaf sat out for at least four hours. That is plenty of time for bacteria to multiply to unsafe levels, levels that could make us sick.

The second principle relates to temperature. Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. There is a range of temperature that is referred to as the “temperature danger zone.” This is the range from 41 to 140 F. It is the range of temperature that bacteria like. As temperatures get colder and drop below 41 F, the growth of bacteria slows down. As temperatures get hotter and rise above 140 F, bacteria begin to die. Had John kept the potato salad under refrigeration all morning, there would not have been any problem. Likewise, if Mary had put her meatloaf in the church oven and held it at 140 F or higher until it was served, then all would have been fine.

Are you guilty of handling foods in a similar way as John or Mary? Have you ever considered that your friends and acquaintances might not know the time and temperature rules? Be aware of situations such as the ones described above and take it upon yourself to do something about them.

With so many people contributing homemade foods at these events, it is important to get the word out to everyone. Food safety is everyone’s business. Share what you know with others.

The cost of foodborne illness in terms of direct medical costs and lost productivity is high. Estimates show that as much as five to six billion dollars are spent per year because of failure to handle foods safely. To learn more about food safety, call your county Cooperative Extension Center and ask for the publication, HE-451, Keeping Food Safe to Eat.