WSU Thurston County

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Lacey WA  98503

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Thurston County Extension

Food Safety: Holiday Foods

The Olympian, September 30, 1998

Fall, football, food, and tailgate parties are part of enjoyment of watching high school, college, and professional teams play the game. You can play the food safety game and win if you follow a few easy guidelines related to time and temperature as you serve special food to your family and friends at your next tailgate party.

QUESTION: Won’t the lower temperatures outside eliminate most concerns about food borne illness?

ANSWER: You may be right, you may be wrong, or it may depend! This may sound like an evasive response, but the answer really depends on a variety of factors. Here are just a few of the variables you would need to consider in answering your own question: The type of food you choose to serve at your tailgate party; whether, it’s served hot or cold; the outside temperature; how long you spend in the traffic jam on Interstate-5; and the time it takes to find a parking place.

To serve safe food, you need ways of keeping cold food cold and hot food hot until you’re ready to eat. You may be familiar with the temperature "danger zone" of 40 degrees F to140 degrees F. Generally, if bacteria are present in perishable food, multiplication can occur in this range. When temperatures are between 60 degrees F and 125 degrees F, bacteria thrive and grow even more rapidly. If you temperature tested the food at one of your outings, you might be unpleasantly surprised at your findings.

Think about using coolers and thermos containers to transport and hold your food safely for these special events.

QUESTION: I would like to take chili for our next tailgate party. Any suggestions for keeping it hot?

ANSWER: There are wide mouthed thermos containers made especially for this purpose. A clean, well-functioning thermos can keep your hot food at a safe temperature for several hours if you follow a few simple guidelines:

Check the seal around the stopper or lid to make sure it fits tightly. A good seal will help keep the chili at a safe, higher temperature.

Right before use, rinse the clean thermos with boiling water.

Reheat the chili to as high a temperature as possible before you spoon it into the thermos.

QUESTION: What about taking a casserole to the game?

ANSWER: A thoroughly cooked casserole can usually stay safe and warm for cool weather parties if you insulate it well. Prepared casserole recipes typically hold lots of heat and are slow to cool because of their thickness.

Here’s a plan for do-it-yourself insulation for the tailgate party casserole. Begin by using several layers of aluminum foil wrap around the casserole dish. Follow using layers of newspaper and finally a towel to cover the dish.

Finally, place the wrapped dish in the bottom of a cardboard box, being careful to fit other items around it.

Serve the casserole as soon as you reach your destination. If this sounds like too much work, there are casserole dishes available commercially that have microwaveable heat packs and insulated carrying packs that make keeping hot food hot a little easier. Always follow the manufacturers’ guidelines for use.

B. Susie  Craig

Area Faculty

WSU Cooperative Extension Thurston County

WSU Extension programs and employment are available to all without discrimination.  Evidence of noncompliance may be reported through your local Extension Office.   Cooperating agencies: Washington State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the county of Thurston.

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