With summer time just around the corner and barbecue season almost in full swing, the Huron County Health Unit is offering up some tips on outdoor food safety.
Whether you're planning a barbecue with friends or a picnic with the family, food safety is just as important outdoors as it is indoors.
As food heats up with the warm summer temperatures, the chance for bacteria also increases so that's why it's important to keep warm food warm and cold food cold.
"Sometimes having a beverage cooler as well as a food cooler can help with that," says Jessica Van Geffen, Public Health Inspector with the Huron County Health Unit. "We go in there more often to get our drinks out so remembering to keep cold food cold. Next we want to organize our cooler so that's where we would have the beverages and our perishables in separate coolers."
Keeping produce like lettuce, tomatoes, and other fruits and vegetables clean will also help prevent bacteria when eating outdoors, as will regular hand washing.
The Huron County Health Unit is asking the public to weigh in on outdoor food safety tips and tricks by participating in a Safe Food To Go contest.
"We want to hear all the public's tips and tricks for keeping food safe when having a picnic or barbecuing at the local beaches or parks. We also want to see all the great locations within Huron County where people are picnicking," adds Van Geffen.
To enter, visit the Huron County Health Unit Website for more information.
Share your input under the #safefood2go tab on the Huron County Health Unit Facebook Page and you'll have a chance to win one of two grand prizes that includes a WeberQ portable barbecue, BBQ tool kit, cooler and other items.