Tips for eating outdoors

A day at the beach, in the pool, on an outing in the mountains … During the summer there are many opportunities to get out of the house all day and eat outside. High temperatures and the time from food preparation to consumption can be risk factors for spoiling an outdoor picnic, as these two factors can promote microbial growth and cause food poisoning. You have to maintain the cold chain, some conservation and hygiene standards so that everything goes out to order by word of mouth.

The Catalan Food Safety Agency has published some brochures that offer a series of recommendations so that food arrives safely in all those situations outdoors:

How to organize the fridge

1. Food is stored in the cooler at the last minute and must have been chilling overnight in the refrigerator.
2. To transport them, refrigerators with refrigeration bags or ice cubes must be used, protected so that they do not drip water.
3. The cubes only keep cold and do not serve to cool. Once they have melted, the food is no longer safe.

4. Separate raw products from cooked ones.

5. Meat and raw fish must be isolated in hermetic containers. And place them in the bottom of the fridge, to avoid juices spilling out that could contaminate the rest of the food.

When transporting

1. During the trip, the refrigerator should be in the coolest place in the vehicle and if necessary, use the air conditioning.
2. When brought to the destination, the first thing is to take out the fridge and put it in the shade.
3. Do not open the fridge if it is not necessary, every time it is opened it loses cold.

The water to be used

1. If there is no drinking water fountain near your destination, take it from home.
2. Wash your hands before you start handling food. When not possible, wet wipes are a good option.

Prepare cold food

1. Prepare salads at the last moment, never at home. Mixing raw and cooked ingredients (eg, spinach and pasta) in advance and at room temperature encourages contamination.
2. Cook the potato omelette well in advance so that it can cool down. Curd the egg well.
3. Avoid sauces with eggs. Commercial sauces receive a sterilization treatment that guarantees their healthiness, but once the container is opened, it must be consumed in a short period of time since they can be recontaminated.
4. Wash raw vegetables and fruit at home. It is the best place to do it.
5. In summer, take advantage of the fruit that is more varied and tasty. It should be peeled if it has not been washed at home before.
6. Keep dairy desserts and egg-based desserts cold until the last moment.

If you barbecue …

1. You can only barbecue in the marked recreational areas. In the rest of the areas it is prohibited.
2. Prepare the fire with enough time to make embers. The live fire burns the surface and leaves the meat raw inside.
3. Check that the meat is well cooked and that it does not give off bloody liquids, thus guaranteeing the elimination of possible germs. Nor should it be singed because it favors the formation of aromatic hydrocarbons.
4. Do not mix raw meat with cooked meat. Wait until everything is done to fill the grill with raw meat again.
5. Do not place the roast meat on the trays used with the raw meat, nor use the same utensils for each meat.