You need to handle and prepare food safely, even when you are picnicking, hiking or camping. Follow these tips to keep food safe while you are having fun outdoors.

Keep hot foods hot and keep cold foods cold

• You cannot smell or taste viruses, bacteria and parasites that can make you sick. To prevent foodborne illness, you must cook food properly and store it at the right temperature. Hot food must be kept at or above 60°C(140°F). Cold foods must be kept at or below 4°C(40°F).
• The temperature range between 4°C– 60°C(40°F– 140°F) is called the danger zone. Bacteria grow quickly in this temperature range. After only 2 hours, the level of bacteria in food could be dangerous.
• If you can’t keep cooked food hot and out of the danger zone during transportation, freeze or chill the food before you leave. Carry them in a cooler that keeps the food at or below 4°C(40°F). Heat them up when you arrive at your picnic or camp site.
• Use a cooler with freezer packs to keep perishable food at or below 4°C(40°F).
• Refrigerate or freeze food, if possible, the day before you pack it.
• Wrap raw meat and poultry well and pack them under all other foods to keep their juices from dripping onto other food.
• Put your cooler in the coolest part of your vehicle. Don’t put the cooler in the trunk if it is a hot day. Keep the cooler out of the sun and cover it with a blanket or tarp at the camp site. Keep the lid of the cooler closed as much as you can.
• Throw out all the perishable foods when the temperature can’t be kept at or below 4°C(40°F).

Wash your hands and wash fresh food

• Bring some hand soap and a fingernail brush for washing your hands.
• Wash your hands well with soap and hot water before you prepare and eat food.Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds. If you don’t have soap and hot water, use disposable wipes or hand sanitizer lotion.
• Always wash your hands after:
  • you touch raw meat, poultry or seafood
  • you touch raw fruits and vegetables
  • you use the washroom
  • you change a diaper
  • you touch an animal
  • you touch any dirty surface
• Dry your hands with paper towels.
• Always wash fruits and vegetables with clean water.

Keep raw foods away from cooked foods

• Keep ready-to-eat and cooked foods separate from unwashed and uncooked foods. Raw food can contaminate other foods by touching them or dripping on them.Wash your hands and any utensils immediately after you touch raw meat, poultry or  seafood.
• When preparing foods, use one cutting board for raw foods like meat, poultry or seafood and a different cutting board for ready-to-eat or cooked foods.

Cooking

• Use a food thermometer when you are cooking to check when the food is safe to eat. The chart below shows safe internal temperatures for different foods.

Drinking Water

• Drink bottled water or tap water from a safe source.
• Purify water from lakes or streams even if the water looks clean. Follow these steps:
  • Let suspended particles settle or strain the water through paper towels.
  • Bring the water to a rolling boil and continue to boil for 3-5 minutes. Boil it for 5-10 minutes if you are in the mountains or high hills.
  • You can also use water purification tablets and water filters. Follow the package directions

Source: Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is the Government of Canada’s regulator for food safety, animal health and plant protection. Food safety and consumer protection are essential to the health of Canadians.