Why Your Car Compromises Food Safety
You have just done a major grocery run, and your trunk is filled with perishables — everything from ice cream and eggs to frozen veggies and meat. You don’t live too far from the grocery store, so you stop to do a couple more errands. They don’t take too long to complete, but with every minute your food sits in your car, it’s cooling off and warming up. The same goes for the casserole you’re transporting to the potluck or the takeout you’re planning to eat with your family during movie night. When transporting food, it’s important to get the items into the fridge, freezer, and cupboards as quickly as possible.
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Why? Because even though you’re comfy with the windows down or with the AC on, it’s really not enough to keep your food safe for a prolonged amount of time. In order to keep your food safe, you have to monitor your travel time.
“Keep the 2-hour-rule in mind — never leave perishable consumables at car temperature or room temperature for more than a couple of hours,” advises Kitchenistic.com
The USDA recommends storing cold foods at 40 degrees Fahrenheit and hot foods at 140 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.
“Foods are no longer safe to eat when they have been in the danger zone between 40-140 degrees Fahrenheit for more than 2 hours (1 hour if the temperature was above 90 degrees Fahrenheit).
If you’re concerned your food is at risk in the car, prep your trunk or cargo area at home before you head to the store.
“Make use of a cooler packed with ice, an insulated container lined with an ice pack, or freezer packs to maintain the temperature of cold food at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, especially if getting to your destination will take more than 30 minutes,” Kitchenistic suggests.
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You need to watch the clock and the temperature when it comes to transporting food safely.
DeAnn Owens is a Dayton transplant by way of the Windy City, yet considers herself to be a California girl at heart even though she’s only visited there once. To get through the dreaded allergy season unique to the Miami Valley, she reads, writes, complains about the weather, and enjoys spending time with her husband, two sons, and their newest addition, a Boston terrier puppy that is now in charge of all their lives. In the future, she hopes to write a novel and travel through time. See more articles by DeAnn.