Our Blog

Game Day Food Safety

Game day party food safety is something that many people won’t think about with the game of the year coming for football fans. While I may not follow either team, I am absolutely team party food, especially the chicken wings. For several years I just ordered the prized wings from a local food truck, but this year I am cooking them myself and serving with a quite large variety of sauces for dipping and glazing.

Here are some reminders for Game Day Food Safety

Popular Super Bowl dishes like pizza, chicken wings, and sliders can’t stay at room temperature for more than two hours. Between 40°F and 140°F—the USDA’s “Danger Zone”—bacteria can multiply to unsafe levels.

Discard perishable items left out longer than two hours. To save leftovers, refrigerate or freeze promptly.

If you plan to keep food out for more than two hours:

  • Keep cold foods at a temperature of 40 F or below by keeping food nestled in ice.
  • Keep hot foods at a temperature of 140 F or above by placing food in a preheated oven, warming trays, chafing dishes or slow cookers.
  1. Clean: Wash hands, surfaces, and utensils thoroughly before and after handling food.
  2. Separate: Avoid cross-contamination with separate cutting boards and utensils.
  3. Cook: Use a food thermometer to ensure safe internal temperatures.
  4. Chill: Refrigerate foods immediately if not serving.

Don’t Fumble the Wings

To make chicken wings tasty, folks often rely on a marinade—a savory sauce that soaks poultry to enrich its flavor or to tenderize it. Marinating also prevents chicken from drying out during roasting, grilling, frying or baking. Here are some cooking and marinating tips to keep your wings safe:

  1. Washing chicken can spread bacteria. Instead wipe your poultry with paper towels and throw used paper towels in the trash to prevent cross contamination. If you wash your chicken, fully clean and sanitize surfaces that raw poultry may have touched.
  2. Wash hands for 20 seconds before and after handling raw poultry. Clean surfaces and utensils with soap and water before cooking and after contact with raw poultry.
  3. Use separate cutting boards, plates and utensils to avoid cross-contamination between raw poultry and foods that are ready-to-eat.
  4. Never marinate raw poultry on a kitchen counter for longer than two hours.
  5. Cook refrigerated raw poultry in a marinade within two days.
  6. Don’t use marinade that was used on raw poultry as a sauce unless it is boiled first to destroy bacteria. Always reheat marinade safely by bringing it to a rolling boil.
  7. Cook chicken wings to a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 F. Use a food thermometer on each wing, avoiding the bone. If one wing is under 165 F, continue cooking until they all reach their safe minimum internal temperature.
  8. Don’t leave cooked chicken wings out for more than two hours at room temperature or keep them hot at 140 F or above by using a preheated oven, warming tray, chafing dish or slow cooker.

 

Whether you are for the Eagles, the Chiefs, Team Commercials or Team Food make sure that your Super Bowl party is safe, happy and filled with many great memories to last a lifetime. Be sure to follow Make Food Safe for other fun party food tips.

Samantha Cooper

Recent Posts

Campylobacter in Linn County? Reports Indicate Higher Than Normal Cases!

Is Campylobacter in Linn County, Oregon on the rise? County Health says it is. In…

2 days ago

Salmonella Outbreak at Chubby Cattle Little Tokyo Restaurant in Los Angeles Leads to Nationwide Egg Recall

What started out as a possible Salmonella outbreak at Chubby Cattle Little Tokyo restaurant in…

3 days ago

Harlem Legionnaires’ Disease Source Identified, New York City Health Department Closes Investigation

The New York City Health Department has declared the Central Harlem Legionnaires’ disease source identified…

4 days ago

At Least 7 Dead and Nearly 100 Gulf Coast Vibrio Cases Confirmed. Florida, Louisiana, and Texas Impacted!

Several Gulf coast Vibrio cases and deaths have been caused oysters and wound exposure. So…

6 days ago

FDA Announces Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Eggs, Prompting Foodservice and Consumer Egg Recall

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) just announced a Salmonella outbreak linked to eggs…

1 week ago

Rainwater in Cooling Towers a Potential Source of Contamination, Regular Maintenance Reduces Risk

Rainwater in cooling towers following recent heavy rains are just one of the potential sources…

2 weeks ago