Summer Cuisine Concerns

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – Many people enjoy living outdoors during the summer, which creates a change in the way foods are cooked, prepared and stored.

Zanesville, Muskingum County Health Department Registered Environmental Health Specialist Michael Cruze talked about the importance of proper food handling as well as some of the dangers associated with food that’s been mishandled.

“A lot of times we’re having parties,” Cruze said. “We’re leaving food out in, kind of buffet lines. Sometimes that food can sit out for a while. You want to make sure you are not keeping food out for any more than 4 hours. That way you know it has time to cool down a little bit and then you can still get it in the refrigerator and save it for leftovers and keep it safe there.”

Outdoor grilling often leads to changes in the way we cook and eat. A variety of meats can easily lead to cross contamination of bacteria that may be present and different meats require different cooking temperatures to effectively eliminate any bacterial concerns.

“At best, you’re going to have an upset stomach for a few days. At worst, you know if you get a severe infection of something like salmonella or any of the other numerous food borne illnesses that you can get. You know you’re looking at multiple days of diarrhea and vomiting, potentially trips to urgent care, even the emergency room. And that can be especially devastating to either young children or elderly people or anyone who is immunocompromised that can’t fight off the infection,” Cruze said.

Aside from proper temperatures, Cruze recommends clean cooking and preparation surfaces, washing your hands and covering foods to prevent insects from spreading contamination.