Louisiana, Tips to Prevent Food Poisoning This Summer

Summer is a time for us to gather with our family and friends. It's also a time for delicious food enjoyed via parties and gatherings. A few safety reminders can make your summer much more enjoyable.

The last thing you want is for poor cooking safety habits to have you stuck in the bathroom or the hospital. The LSU AgCenter has some great tips for tailgating season, and they are also perfect for any holiday weekend as people will gather for pool parties, family reunions, and picnics.

Let's start off with the first and most obvious important tip to keep our food safe, and it's easy: Make sure you thoroughly wash your hands before you start touching any food in the cooking or preparation process.

It is also recommended never to mix meat products with any of the items before you put them in for cooking. This means cleaning your hands, prepping your meat, and then thoroughly cleaning your hands again before preceding to prep vegetables, pasta, and other side dish items.

Here's another great piece of information if you are taking your food to another destination before you are going to cook it. Here are the suggestions:

Remember to keep your items cool when you are transporting them because it's always warm here
Use a cooler or pop that stuff into a refrigerator as soon as you get to your destination if it's possible
Remember you might end up being short on utensils and fresh water. You might consider bringing some.

They suggest the following four things to keep in mind to make it easy: