Summer is here and with it, picnic season, a time to enjoy favorite summer dishes in the great outdoors. July has been designated as National Picnic Month. When you’re relaxing with family and friends, it’s easy to get caught up in the fun and accidentally make food safety mistakes. Unfortunately, one small error can sicken your whole crew, making you one unpopular host! One in six Americans gets sick every year from foodborne pathogens. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics at www.eatright.org recommends avoiding these seven common picnic food mistakes to reduce your odds of getting a foodborne illness.

A large percentage of foodborne illnesses could be eliminated if people would wash their hands more often when preparing food. Wash your hands before cooking, after handling raw meat and before eating or serving food. Bring hand sanitizer if there is no running water at your picnic site, and rub it all over your hands, including between fingers and around nails.

Your hands aren’t the only things you should keep clean. If you’re not careful, juices from raw meat and poultry can drip into your cooler, creating a breeding ground for bacteria to grow. Before you pack for your picnic, sanitize your cooler, and wash the reusable bags you’ll use to transport food. Pack your food in clean, tightly sealed containers.

If you won’t have access to running water at your picnic site, wash fruits and veggies at home first. Wash produce even if you plan on peeling it; bacteria can transfer from the knife or peeler to the edible portion.

If you won’t be able to wash plates, tongs, and serving utensils at the picnic site, bring two sets: one for handling raw meats and one for serving cooked foods. Accidentally serving cooked hamburgers on the same plate you used for the raw patties can lead to foodborne illness. Make sure you keep ready-to-eat food such as buns, fruits, vegetables, and side dishes away from contaminated serving utensils, too.

Also, don’t reuse marinade used on raw meat, seafood, or poultry unless it’s been boiled before going onto ready-to-eat food. Lastly, pack your cooler with care. As much as possible, separate fruits, vegetables, and cooked foods from raw meat, poultry, and seafood.

Even an insulated cooler can’t keep food cool enough on its own. Pack your cooler about three-quarters of the way full of food, reserving one-quarter of the space for ice packs. If possible, chill or freeze foods before packing them in your cooler. Pack cold and hot food separately.

Always pack an appliance thermometer in the cooler and keep an eye on it throughout the day, ensuring it doesn’t go above 40°F. Consider packing beverages in a separate cooler. You can keep the cooler with the perishable food closed while the beverage cooler is frequently opened and shut.

If you’re bringing ice to use in beverages, pack it in a separate sealed bag. Don’t put loose ice used to keep food cold in beverages. This ice could have picked up odorless, invisible bacteria from the surfaces of food containers or other items in the cooler.

Meat needs to be cooked to certain temperatures to control harmful bacteria. Hamburgers should be cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 160°F. Chicken breasts and legs must be cooked to at least 165°F.

There are right and wrong ways to take the temperature of meat. For example, you’ll get a false reading if the food thermometer touches a bone when you’re testing a chicken breast. Hamburgers should always be tested in the thickest section.

Keep perishable picnic food out of the danger zone — a temperature range between 40°F and 140°F. When food is in the danger zone, bacteria can double in number every 20 minutes. Unfortunately, you cannot see, smell or taste if a food has harmful bacteria or toxins growing in it. Pack food in a well-insulated cooler with plenty of ice or ice packs to keep the temperature below 40°F. Transport the cooler in the back seat of your air-conditioned car instead of in your hot trunk. Remove from the cooler only the amount of raw meat that will fit on the grill.

Don’t let food sit out for more than two hours. If the temperature outside is 90°F or above, food should only sit out for an hour at most. It’s easy to lose track of time when you’re relaxing outside. Bring a timer or set an alarm on your cell phone to remind you when it’s time to put food away. Remember — it’s not just meat that can make you sick. All perishable food should be monitored closely, especially egg, potato and tuna salads made with mayonnaise, and anything dairy-based.

So, before you pack the picnic basket, remember these simple tips to ensure that unwanted bacteria won’t have a place at your table. Keeping your food safe keeps everyone safe! For more information on food safety call the Arkansas County Cooperative Extension Service at (870)659-2058 or visit our website at https://www.uaex.uada.edu/life-skills-wellness/food-safety/default.aspx.