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Picnic Pitfalls: How to Keep Your Food Safe

Summary & Participants

So you're going on a picnic. You've got a comfortable blanket, just the right spot for a relaxing outdoor meal and your favorite foods packed in an old-fashioned basket. Sounds nice... but if your food isn't insulated properly, there's a good chance that it's turned into a bacteria breeding ground. How do you keep your picnic from becoming a health hazard? Join our panel of experts to find out.

Medically Reviewed On: June 25, 2008

Webcast Transcript

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: Welcome to our webcast. I'm David Folk Thomas. Our topic is picnicking. I should be wearing a T-shirt now, but I prefer formal picnicking. It's summertime, you're carrying a lot of food out with you. There are some pitfalls to watch out for. The sun heating that food up is one of the major concerns, but we're going to tell you how to do picnicking right and not cause yourself any problems.

Joining me to talk about that is Laura Pensiero. She is a culinary consultant. She has a company called Recipe Works in New York City. She is also the co-author of "The Strang Cookbook for Cancer Prevention." That's published by Dutton.

Next to Laura is Heidi Skolnik. She is the team nutritionist for the New York Mets baseball team and the New York Giants football team. She has a company, Nutrition Conditioning, in New Jersey. Welcome to both of you.

Heidi, let's start with you. What are some of the dangers of picnicking in the summer besides really big, dangerous ants?

HEIDI SKOLNIK, RD: Food safety. There is nothing that can ruin a great day out than having really poor stomach ailments.

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: Getting food poisoning or something like that?

HEIDI SKOLNIK, RD: Exactly. In fact, over 900,000 cases of food poisoning are reported each year. It's not a small incidence, so it's something to pay attention to. We think, "Oh, we'll just pack up some food and head to the beach or head to the park." The real thing to remember is to keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot. First thing, you want to pack it right away. Don't lay everything out and then start packing because that leaves it out to the air. The Styrofoam is not even cold enough or insulated enough. Get an insulated bag, pack it with ice. Pack the foods that you need to keep coldest on the bottom. Make sure that the top fits snugly, and that you can really keep those cold foods cold.

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: You see those old movies with the nice little picnic basket that opens on each side. That isn't good.

HEIDI SKOLNIK, RD: It's very romantic, but it doesn't work.

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: As far as the dangers that Heidi was mentioning, with foods that get too hot, what can go wrong?

LAURA PENSIERO, RD: Basically, it's the ideal environment for bacteria to grow and multiply, so the minute you get out of a zone that's supposed to be cold, usually over 40 degrees, or a zone that's supposed to be hot, if you dip under that, you've created the perfect environment for bacteria to grow.

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: Right away, I'm thinking bad mayonnaise, I'm thinking sandwiches.

LAURA PENSIERO, RD: Mayonnaise is one of the main culprits of summer.

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: How long can mayonnaise stay non-refrigerated or out in the warm weather without hurting you.

LAURA PENSIERO, RD: It's less the amount of time, and more the degree that the temperature changes in the food.

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