Handling Holiday Food at Work

Ah, the office "Holiday Celebration." An elaborate "potluck" spread in which all members of the group agree to bring food items from home. The conference room is beautifully decorated with bright sparkling streamers and a large table is set up to display the food. You can smell Jennifer's famous Grilled Lemon Garlic Chicken as soon as she enters the room. Bob always brings his ever so popular Hickory Smoked Ribs with Spicy Bourbon Sauce and the celebration would not be complete without Beverly's rich and delicious Pumpkin Chiffon Cheesecake with Carmel Nut Topping.

Although the party is scheduled for lunchtime, it actually begins when someone leaves a bottle of Hazelnut Liqueur by the coffee machine and the Eggnog arrives. The refrigerator is full, bags of food can be found sitting around all over the place. Silently and without the slightest warning uninvited bacteria may start to grow. Does this scenario sound familiar? It happens every year all over the country.

Potluck? A potluck dinner is defined by Webster's Dictionary as a dinner to which everyone brings a dish or entree, salad or dessert to share. It is further defined as "whatever is available, with little or no choice." Many times what is available develops into "a 24 hour bug" or "stomach flu." Both terms are actually misnomers for "food poisoning" or "foodborne illness." But, you do have a choice. Illness can be avoided if people just learn to handle food properly.

What should you do to make your "Holiday Potluck Celebration" a complete success? Let's start with some widespread myths about food and food handling.

Myth: It smells good and tastes alright so it must be good. Wrong! The bacteria that causes foodborne illness does not change the taste, smell or appearance of the food. That's why people eat it. Given the ideal conditions bacteria will grow. The temperature "danger zone" is between 40 and 140°F. If the food is too hot or too cold for bacteria growth, it is safe. Food that is to be served hot should be refrigerated until ready to serve. Then it should be re-heated to 165°F and held at temperatures above 140°F. If the temperature of hot food falls below 140°F it should not be left at room temperature for more than 2 hours.

Myth: The food is cooked, so it won't spoil. Wrong! Cooked food held for more than 2 hours without refrigeration or a heat source is the ideal environment for airborne bacteria to grow and multiply. Especially protein-rich foods such as meat, chicken and egg dishes. The grilled lemon garlic chicken, pumpkin chiffon cheesecake, eggnog and hickory smoked ribs mentioned above are all prime candidates for bacteria growth if improperly handled.

Myth: We all ate the same thing and only a few people got sick so it couldn't be the food. Wrong again! Whether or not you get sick is based on several facts. First, how much of the bad food did you eat? For example: the bacteria load you consumed in one piece of bad chicken is much less than someone who ate three pieces of the same chicken. Also, your immune system may be more able to fight off the illness-causing bacteria than the person eating next to you.

Myth: My kitchen is clean and I always wash my hands so the food I brought could not possibly make anyone sick. Wrong! Your food may have been perfectly safe when it left your kitchen, but how was it handled after it arrived? Unsafe time and temperature practices could have made it unsafe. Hot cooked food and cold food such as potato salad can become harmful if it sits on the buffet table from noon until five o'clock. If food will not be eaten within the 2 hour safety zone, provide a controlled temperature environment for it. Set potato salad or other cold foods in a large pan of crushed ice to keep it cold during serving time. Plan to use a sterno or crock pot at low setting to keep hot foods hot.

Myth: No bacteria could possibly live in my eggnog with all that rum and bourbon. Wrong again! Cooked, chilled eggnog is the only safe eggnog. Eggnog should never be made with raw eggs and the addition of alcohol will not kill the Salmonella that may be in the uncooked egg rich food. Salmonella dies at 155°F. Commercial eggnog is pasteurized to proper temperatures and homemade eggnog must always be cooked too. Some bacteria can tolerate an alcohol environment. Some can tolerate high salt as well. So, foods like ham and spiked eggnog are not safe unless they are properly handled.

Whether your office holiday celebration is pot luck or catered, keep it safe. Happy Holidays.

Winter 1998
Time to Think Christmas Trees | Caring for Poinsettias & Christmas Trees | Constructing a Holiday Wreath | Help Minimize Salt Injury to Shade Trees | '99 All-America Selection Vegetable Winners | Bug Bites | Cybergarden Sites | Lawn Care Calendar | Hort Shorts | Hort Tips | Locally Grown—Pumpkins & Winter Squash | Food for Thought | Food Handling | Food Safety | Health & Household Tips | Did You Know?

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