Food Safety While Traveling

Whether you are making a short trip to the beach or traveling across the country, packing your favorite foods safely should be a top priority. Each year millions of people become sick due to food borne illness caused by contaminated foods. Food borne illness often presents itself as flu-like symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or fever; so many people don’t recognize the illness is caused by bacteria. Most cases of food borne illness can be prevented. Proper cooking, storage and/or processing of food destroy bacteria. To prevent problems during your trip, following some general rules could prevent a mild case of stomach irritation or a serious illness. 1. Plan: When traveling with perishable food (meat, fish, poultry, eggs and salads) make sure to always keep it in a cooler with plenty of ice, freezer packs or gel-packs. Most freezer and jell-packs are reusable but must be thoroughly cleaned after each use. When you take perishable foods along for eating on the road or to cook at a vacation site, keep everything on ice until ready to use. 2. Pack Safely: Keep raw meat and poultry wrapped separately from cooked foods, or foods meant to be eaten raw such as fruit. Pack perishable foods directly from the refrigerator or freezer into the cooler. Meat and poultry packed frozen will stay cooler longer. Remember, a full cooler will maintain its cold temperatures longer than one that is partially filled. Beverage should be kept in a separate cooler so the perishable food cooler is not opened so frequently. Keep a thermometer handy to check the temperature of foods stored. Cold foods should be kept at a temperature of 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below. 3. Camping: Remember to keep the cooler in a shady area and cover with a blanket, tarp, or poncho. Bring bottled water or other beverages for drinking. Water in streams, lakes and rivers are not always safe for drinking. It is also a good idea to pack purification tablets or equipment when traveling in remote areas.

August 2012

4. Fishing or Crabbing Trips: Don’t leave perishable foods sitting out while swimming or fishing. Remember: In hot weather (90 degrees Fahrenheit or above), food should never sit out for more than one hour. Discard any food left out more than two hours). Take extra precautions with fish caught during outings. Fin fish should be cleaned thoroughly as soon as they are caught. Wrap in plastic sealable bags or other secure containers and store on ice. Keep three to four inches of ice on the bottom of the cooler and also over the fish. Cook within one to two days or freeze. After cooking eat within three to four days. Crabs, lobsters and other shellfish must be kept alive until cooked. Store in a cooler or basket under wet burlap. Crabs and lobsters are best eaten the day they are caught. Live oysters can keep seven to ten days; mussels and clams four to five days. Note: It is not recommended that anyone eat raw shellfish. This is important for individuals with liver disorders or weakened immune systems. If you are spending the day at the beach remember to follow the recommendations in the “Plan and Pack “section. Take along only the amount of food that can be eaten to avoid having leftovers. Partially bury the cooler in the sand, cover with blankets and shade it with a beach umbrella. Also, keep disposable, moist towelettes for cleaning hands available. In order to make sure your next road trip is a safe one, remember to keep food safe from harmful bacteria by following these four simple steps: Clean: Wash hands and surfaces often Separate: Don’t cross contaminate Cook: Cook to proper temperatures Chill: Refrigerate promptly Source: U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition; U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service

For more information contact:

B. Elaine Freeney Coordinator-Expanded Food and

Nutrition Education Program e-freeney@tamu.edu Phone: 713.440.4984

Fax: 713.440.4980

The Cooperative Extension Program serves people of all ages regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, disability, political beliefs, and marital or family status. (Not all classes are protected by legal statutes).