Food safety for potlucks and holiday buffets

This time of year, office parties, church gatherings, and club celebrations often take the form of potlucks or other type of buffet style spreads of delicious food. Let’s examine ways to ensure everyone enjoys the foods on the buffet safely with no regrets later in the form of tummy upset.

Of course, as with any meal, start with a clean food prep surface, clean utensils, and thoroughly washed hands. To prevent cross contamination, separate raw meat, poultry, eggs, and seafood from foods that won’t be cooked such as salad greens, bread, fruit, and deli salads. This begins in the grocery store: raw meats should be placed in the plastic bags provided in most grocery store meat departments and then kept separate from other foods in your shopping cart and grocery bags. Raw meat should be stored on the bottom shelf or meat storage drawer of the refrigerator in a container to prevent juices from spilling onto other foods. During preparation, be mindful not to use the same cutting boards used to prep raw meats when prepping foods that will not be cooked. Non-wooden cutting boards are preferred for effective cleaning. To clean your cutting boards and utensils wash thoroughly with hot soapy water, then disinfect with chlorine bleach and rinse thoroughly with clean water.

Use a food thermometer to ensure that foods are cooked thoroughly. Fresh and frozen raw meat, poultry, and fish should be cooked to a temperature sufficient to destroy bacteria that cause food borne illnesses. Home cooked meat temperatures are as follows (Note that regulated facilities such as restaurants may cook to different temperatures because staff are trained in the use of time and temperature to reach safe standards. If you would like to earn your ServSafe Manager’s Certification please contact Cheri Bennett, contact at the end of the article):

Poultry or fowl, whole or parts = 165° Fahrenheit (F)

Ground poultry or fowl = 165° F

Ground beef, pork, veal, lamb or venison = 160° F

Fresh beef, pork, veal, lamb or venison = 145° F

Fish and shellfish, all kinds = 145° F

Eggs = until yolk and white are firm

Egg dishes = 160° F

One of the biggest infractions for food at potlucks and church buffets is time-temperature control. DO NOT allow risky foods to sit at room temperature for more than two hours! Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. Use a food thermometer to ensure that food is held at the appropriate temperatures. Hot foods should be held at 140° F or greater. Be sure you have the ability to hold food at this temperature if it will be sitting out for longer than two hours. Hot foods can be kept at the proper temperature using Sterno® burners, warming trays, chaffing dishes, and slow cookers. Cold foods should be held at 41° F or below. You can do this by nesting the serving dish in a bowl of ice or by placing the food in a small serving dish and replacing the dish with a fresh portion of food from the refrigerator on a frequent basis.

Hot or cold foods left out for more than two hours without maintaining the proper temperature begin to enter the danger zone for harmful growth of microorganism as the temperature of hot foods goes below140° F and the temperature for cold foods rises above 41° F.

What are those risky foods, known as Potentially Hazardous Foods (PHF’s)? The Center for Disease Control (CDC) identifies the following: dishes containing milk and dairy products, eggs (except those treated to eliminate microorganisms by pasteurization), meat (beef, pork, and lamb), poultry, fish and shellfish, baked potatoes, heat treated plant foods (rice, beans, and vegetables, tofu and other soy proteins), sprouts and sprout seeds, sliced tomatoes and cut tomatoes, and fresh produce such as leafy greens in salads. Hard cheeses and dried meats, dried fruits and nuts, all of which may make an appearance on a charcuterie board, are relatively safe over long periods on a buffet table due to the preservatives in them and low water content.

Be mindful of the guests attending your event, especially those vulnerable populations such as the elderly, young children, and pregnant women. Be aware that pregnant women should not consume mold-ripened cheeses such as Brie, Blue Cheese, Camembert and Chévre. Pregnant guest should also avoid deli, chorizo, and paté meats. These foods run the risks of carrying the harmful bacteria called listeria that could cross the mother’s digestive system into the placenta leading to miscarriage and stillbirth.

Planning and preparing a safe potluck event, or home or church buffet requires time and planning. Now, that you are aware of the food safety aspects you are ready to create great memories with family and friends! Be safe, have fun, enjoy, and have a Happy New Year!