Avoid tummy troubles this summer
Stop worrying so much about sell-by and expiration dates
If you're diligent about throwing away foods that reach or pass their posted date of freshness, you're likely throwing away perfectly safe food. According to the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service website, these dates merely indicate the window of peak quality, not safety. Even milk that has started to sour is technically not bad for you. It turns out the dates are far less important than the stored temperature and how sanitary you keep your kitchen.
Smell Check
While smell is wildly subjective to the person, our noses know more than we give them credit for. If food smells bad, it probably is. Since yeast, mold and bacteria that contribute to food decay create a smell while they're going to work, your nose can help you identify if the food in front of you is too far past its prime and, potentially, unsafe to eat. If you're unsure, it's safer to toss it than second guess your bacteria-sniffing skills.
Not sure it’s good? Throw it out
This is the easiest tip to follow and takes literally no scientific research. If you aren't sure about the safety of a particular food, throw it away. It's better to err on the side of caution, especially when guessing wrong could mean days spent on the porcelain throne (or in the hospital).
Factor travel time into food safety
Tailgating, heading to friends' or family members' homes and even spending the day at the beach can all take a toll on the safety of our food. When planning out your summer menu, consider how long food will be in transport, without refrigeration and what the outdoor temperature will be. Then plan accordingly. Make pit stops along the way to add ice or wait until you're close to your destination to buy last-minute perishable items to limit the exposure to potential bacteria.
Keep one cooler for drinks and one for food
Opening and closing an ice chest is a quick way to raise the internal temperature, making safe food storage difficult. Since bottled drinks are less likely to pose a health threat if their temperature isn't stable, it makes sense to keep them in a separate cooler from your food. Pro tip: the U.S. Food Safety website recommends packing perishable foods in the cooler first and then covering with ice. Since cold air sits low, it will help keep your food safely chilled longer.
Don’t drink from the hose
It's hard to believe that our summer hydration staple is, by all accounts, seriously bad for us. Not only are garden hoses left in the dirt (which could carry the same bacteria that causes food poisoning), but a study from the Ann Arbor Ecology Center found that 100 percent of the garden hoses tested exceeded the legal limit for lead and 20 times the limit of hormone-disrupting BPA. While flooding our mouths with hose water is fun, it's probably best to just go inside and get a cup.
