Beware the Danger Zone!

This weekend my family and I went to a reunion in Caseville. Apparently “the thumb” is quite a destination this time of year, and everything was booked. We ended up getting room at a place after a cancellation, and $100 later (for a tiny room that didn’t smell good and had a moldy shower) we had accommodations for the night.

At about 7:00 p.m. the power went out. Not just at our hotel, but all over the thumb. So there was no electricity, no water, and no AIR CONDITIONING (I am such a city dweller these days) until about 2:00 this morning when the lights, ac, and fan all came blasting on in our stuffy little room and woke everyone up.

So Sunday morning there was a brunch offered at the hotel, but I didn’t want to go so we headed home. My husband and kids were starving, but I refused to stop anywhere in the thumb for breakfast. Normally I would have been happy to stop at a little family owned spot for breakfast which would surely have included nothing but carbohydrates and cholesterol, but I thought better of it. It was for the well being of my family!!

Ok, so I am known for being a bit paranoid about food safety, but when you feed the public for your job it is important not to poison anyone. And when I know an entire region has been out of power for a number of hours, I worry about… the danger zone!!

I decided that this week I would write about the food danger zone.  While it isn’t “sexy”, it’s really important. All foods that can cause illness need to follow some guidelines, and here they are:

1.      1.  All “potentially hazardous foods” – things made primarily of protein, mainly – can spend a cumulative total of about four hours in the danger zone (this four hours includes the time from butchery to your table to your leftovers – so don’t underestimate the amount of time food has been growing bacteria)

2.       2. The danger zone refers to the temperature that is most detrimental to perishable foods; it occurs between 40 and 140 degrees

3.      3.  At about 75 degrees bacteria has a festival!! This is the time that food develops the most dangerous bacteria, and the longer it stays here (around room temp), the more dangerous it can be

4.       4. Don’t thaw things on your counter – especially meats; by the time the inside thaws, the outside will have spent way too long in the bacteria festival zone!

5.       5. The best way to thaw things is overnight in your refrigerator; second best is thawing things under cool running water, or even in your microwave

6.       6. If you go to picnic – and this is the season for picnics – keep foods on ice and try to keep their temperatures below forty degrees as much as possible

7.       7. When you’re marinating things, keep them in the refrigerator for much of the time, and only bring them to room temp for a half hour or so before grilling

8.       8. Really watch out for foods like meat, rice (yes, this is one of the most hazardous foods!), and mayonnaise based dressings; also, anything with protein (like eggs and dairy) can be dangerous too

So this is not the happy-fun blog today! I refused to eat in the thumb because I didn’t know if the foods had been kept safe during the power outage. Some cooks and restaurant owners don’t think enough about the danger zone.  You just need to be careful while eating out, and while cooking at home.

Just remember: cold is gold!

:) Have a great week everyone!

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