Food Safety While Camping

It's a great time of year for camping, with cooler nights, and warm days where swimming, hiking, and fishing are all great activities for the whole family. When camping, there are a few special concerns to keep in mind when it comes to food.

Safety is, and should be, your first concern when camping.  All the planning and excitement for a fun-filled camping experience won't do you any good if it's all ruined because of an unpleasant experience, or worse.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When thinking about safety, most people think about putting the fire out safely, having bandaids ready,  or even about insect repellent and sunscreen.  But, believe me, there is another concern to think about – food safety.  And we're not just talking about keeping your potato salad cold.  We're also talking about keeping your food, and you, out of harms way.

How does food storage affect your safety at a camp site?

1. Food poisoning – cases are reported every year of campers suffering from illness and actual food poisoning due to improperly cooked or improperly stored food.

2. Wild animal attacks – although rare, cases of attacks due to an animal being startled while foraging for food are still reported.

As you can see, food storage accounts for several safety issues. Let's take a look at some tips and tricks for how to safely store food when camping.

The Cold Food

Choose a cooler that will safely accommodate your food and keep it cold. Placing frozen bottles of water inside of your cooler will keep your food and the cooler colder for a longer period of time, and you can drink the water. Freeze any meat that you won't be using the first day in camp. This will allow it to thaw inside of the cooler and cut down on the chances of it spoiling before you use it.  It will also act as an ice block to keep everything inside the cooler cold. Think of it this way; a frozen block of ice takes up room and doesn't feed anybody, whereas a frozen slab of bacon, meat, or fish does double duty. 

The Nonperishable Food

Store your nonperishable food items in plastic containers with airtight lids. This will keep your food items safe from weather, bugs, and larger hungry critters, and will also keep everything together in one place. Bread, cookies, and other dry food items should be kept in one container, tightly sealed.  Other heavier items, like fruit, should be kept together in a separate airtight container. You don't want your grapefruit rolling around on top of your bread.  And, yes, keep your canned goods in this same manner. Even though critters won't get into a can, if it rains, you won't lose the labels and end up with 'surprise soup' for dinner.

Camping Breakfast Day Two (Photo credit: Simply Bike)

The Cooking Utensils

Place your cooking items such as pots, eating and cooking utensils, plates and cups in several plastic containers with snap on lids. This way you'll have everything in one place when you need to find it. By storing them in the container, you'll keep everything clean when you go to use it again. The plastic containers also double as wash up stations, which is another important safety consideration. You don't want to leave dirty food-covered utensils sitting around.

Safeguard Containers For Car Campers

Place your food storage container and cooler inside of your car before you crawl into your tent at night. Critters such as raccoons and squirrels are quite resourceful and will figure out how to open or chew through almost anything holding food.  If you're in bear country, you may just wake up and find entire containers missing.  And never, ever, ever store your food inside of your tent.

Safeguard Containers For Hikers

If you are hiking into your campsite, you won't have your car to store your food containers.  Instead, you'll need to put your sealed food containers into sacks and hoist them up in a tree. Your goal is to keep them out of reach of any animals, such as bears, that may be attracted to your food. Make sure you still put your foods in airtight containers so an animal is less likely to smell anything tasty. Then be sure to hoist the bags up in a tree at least 50 yards away from camp. Do this on day one because if an animal gets even one treat from you, they will be back for another, even if you have safeguarded it.

Planning for food safety for your camping trip takes a bit of work, but it's worth it.  Food cooked over a campfire under the stars somehow makes everything taste better.  Keep your food, and your family, safe with these simple food storage tips, and enjoy the great outdoors!  And be sure to check back later this week for some tasty campfire recipes!

Healthy Kitchen Tips: Prevent Food-Borne Illnesses

Eating healthy foods will help you to boost your immune system, but what if it’s the foods themselves making you sick? Food-borne illness can cause food poisoning and a variety of other more dangerous diseases, so they are a real threat to our bodies. Luckily, there are a number of things you can do to prevent food-borne illnesses. Following safety tips when handling, preparing, and storing food is very important.

Image via WikipediaFirst and foremost, you should be concerned with the temperature of your foods. When cooking meat, make sure to use a thermometer in order to make sure that your meat is reaching proper temperatures inside. Some meats, like beef steaks or roasts, can be served rare safely, but proper temperatures for cooking are crucial. This kills any bacteria that may be growing on the meat. In the case of burgers and other loaf meats that have been ground and formed into patties, you should not eat rare meats. The bacteria can then be found inside the meat as well as on the outside, and you are at risk if you do not cook these meats for a long enough period of time to kill any bacteria.

After your food is cooked, you should continue to monitor temperature. Simply put, keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. Hot foods should be kept at temperatures above 140 degrees Fahrenheit, while cold foods should be kept at temperatures below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. The range between that is where bacteria can grow. When letting food cool for refrigeration, stir frequently to help cool more quickly, and place in the refrigerator after no more than two hours. When thawing meals - especially meats, do so in a bowl or pan in the refrigerator, rather than at room temperature.

Image via WikipediaCross contamination is a huge culprit when you are concerned with preventing illness and your food. Cross contamination is basically the moving of bacteria from one dish to another. This happens when you use dirty cutting boards, don’t wish your dishes properly, and use the same utensil for all of your foods. If you use, for example, a knife to cut raw chicken and then use that same knife to cut your food after it has been cooked, some of the bacteria from the raw chicken has probably remained on the knife, which can make you very ill. Make sure that you are using a clean work space and clean tools whenever you cook.

Along with using a clean environment, you should make sure that you are washing your hands regularly. Every time you touch raw foods, you should use disinfecting hand soap and hot water before and afterwards to make sure that no bacteria remains on your hands. Making sure that your food is safe is one of the most important parts of healthy eating, so don’t overlook this step the next time you prepare a meal. Following the simple tips above can help ensure that your food stays clean and healthy, and so do you.