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Health & Fitness

Chef Terry French Offers Tips for a Food Safe and Rocking Super Bowl XLVIII Party

How to serve safe and properly prepared food for your Super Bowl party guests.

Millions of Americans tune into the Super Bowl every year and this year’s Seattle Seahawks vs Denver Broncos game is no exception. Food will be flying, drinks flowing and the most common foodborne illness, norovirus, may be fumbling from unclean hands to serving spoons and back again.

Leave the contact sport to the players and make sure hands and serving spoons are washed regularly. Blow the whistle on double dippers and keep the illegal contact out of your serving dishes.

The Ad Council, USDA, FDA and CDC are partnering with Food Network’s World Extreme Chef winner, Terry French, and Season 8 Food Network Star finalist, Martie Duncan, to help promote food safe practices in every kitchen.

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“When the party is hopping and everyone’s having a great time, the last thing you want to be worried about is foodborne illness,” says Chef French. The reality is that foodborne illness affects about one in six Americans (48 million people) each year, resulting in approximately 128,000 hospitalizations and an estimated 3,000 deaths.

Chefs like French and Duncan know how to take the offensive line when prepping for a crowd. “I like to live on the wild side, but not when it comes to food safety. With just a few simple steps and additional prep, you can have an amazing Super Bowl feast and not have to worry about foodborne illness ruining the party,” says French.

Super Bowl party hosts should be concerned with serving safe, properly prepared food to their guests. Super Bowl parties often involve a selection of finger foods, people sharing communal dishes and food that is left out for long periods of time — this calls for a “penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct”, a recipe for disaster. The USDA, CDC, FDA and the Ad Council have teamed up to create The Food Safe Families campaign and are offering tips on FoodSafety.gov to help you throw a ”touch-down”  Super Bowl Party.

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On behalf of the campaign, Martie Duncan created a video highlighting how to throw a “Safe Super Bowl Party.” http://youtu.be/zeK85i5dyvg

Remember:

· Thoroughly CLEAN and wash kitchen surfaces, utensils and hands before preparing or serving food and wash all produce including produce you plan to peel, such as avocados.

· SEPARATE raw meats and poultry from ready-to-eat foods like fruit and vegetables.

· COOK meat and poultry to the right temperature by using a food thermometer. Chicken should be cooked to 165°F  and ground beef to 160°F.

· CHILL cooked and prepared foods if you do not plan to consume them within two hours.

 

For serving, follow the 40-140 rules to tackle any chance of making your guests ill. Like Sunday’s predicted chilly game temperatures, keep cold foods chilled to 40°F or below.  Hot foods should be heated to 140°F or above. The two-hour rule is also in effect: food should not sit at room temperature for more than two hours, so have replacements ready at halftime. Instead of using large serving bowls, serve dips and items with dairy in smaller containers. Make several in advance and keep them chilled in the refrigerator until you need them. This helps eliminate waste and contamination. Offer serving spoons and small plates to “sack” the opportunity for guests to eat items like dip and guacamole directly from the serving container.

 If you have questions about preventing food poisoning and how to keep your family safe this Super Bowl Sunday, check out the free resources on FoodSafety.gov. The online database, Ask Karen, has answers to nearly 1,500 questions related to foodborne illness. You can also call the USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday. Both are available in English and Spanish. Twitter chat info?

The Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos will face-0ff in Super Bowl XLVIII (48) at 6:30 p.m. EST, Feb. 2, 2014. The 48th Super Bowl will take place in East Rutherford, NJ’s Meadowlands in MetLife Stadium.

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