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Game Day Food Safety Tips

Tackling a potluck at your Super Bowl Party? Practice these game rules and keep the runs on the field. Make sure your party is memorable for all the right reasons!

Simple steps to avoid food poisoning

  1. Keep it clean. Practice frequent handwashing, use clean dishes, and wash all surfaces that may come in contact with food.
  2. Keep it Safe. Use chafing dishes, slow cookers, and warming trays to keep hot food hot at 60oC or more. It’s also important to keep cold foods cold, like salsa and dips, at 4oC or colder.
  3. Intercept mix-ups. Separate raw meats from ready-to-eat foods, like veggies. Provide serving utensils and small plates to discourage eating directly from bowls with dips and salsa.
  4. Watch the clock. Follow recommended cooking and standing times (the extra minutes needed for food to cook completely). Track how long foods have been stored at room temperature. Discard after two hours.
  5. Cook it well. Check that foods are cooked to proper minimum internal temperatures with a food thermometer. For party favourites, like chicken wings and ground beef sliders, make sure that they reach 74oC and 71oC, respectively.
  6. Protect the leftovers. Discard hazardous foods that have been out at room temperature for longer than two hours. Leftovers should be divided into smaller portions and be placed in shallow containers, and refrigerate.

Pro tips

Be a winner! Invest in a good food thermometer.  

If you see “double dippers” (folks who repeatedly eat or dip from a shared food dish), throw the penalty flag before someone is down on the field.