Serving and Transporting Food Safely

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Serving and Transporting Food

• Keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot.
• Do not use a plate that previously held raw meat, poultry, or seafood for anything else unless the plate has first been washed in hot, soapy water.
• Hot food should be kept hot, at or above 140 °F. Wrap well and place in an insulated container.
• Foods like chicken salad and desserts in individual serving dishes can also be placed directly on ice, or in a shallow container set in a deep pan filled with ice. Drain off water as ice melts and replace ice frequently.
• Don't let perishable food sit out longer than 2 hours.
• Food should not sit out for more than 1 hour in temperatures above 90°F.

A Note About Transporting Food

• Keep cold food cold. Place cold food in a cooler with ice or frozen gel packs. Cold food should be held at or below 40°F.
• Consider packing beverages in one cooler and perishable foods in another.
• Meat, poultry, and seafood may be packed while it is still frozen so that it stays colder longer. Be sure to keep raw meat, poultry, and seafood securely wrapped so their juices don't contaminate cooked foods or foods eaten raw such as fruits and vegetables.
• After washing fruits and vegetables, dry them with a clean cloth towel or paper towel before packing them.
• Keep the cooler in the air-conditioned passenger compartment of your car, rather than in a hot trunk. Limit the times the cooler is opened.

If you have questions, please contact the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition's Outreach and Information Center at 1-888-SAFEFOOD.

SOURCES:

Food and Drug Administration. Outdoor Eating Food Safety Tips.

National Institutes of Health, National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Salmonellosis. (Accessed 6/12/08)


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Reviewed by Francine Kaufman, MD. 4/08