PACKING A PICNIC: SAFETY IS KEY WHEN HANDLING SUMMER FOOD

The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the bees are buzzing. The grill is calling.

It's a great time for a picnic.

Before you grab the potato salad and head for that shady spot near the lake, take a few minutes to think about what you're packing in the picnic basket.

Susan McClanahan of Cape Girardeau likes to start cooking when she gets to the picnic grounds.

"We've done the cold fried chicken thing, but with all the little tiny grills available, you can cook just about anywhere," McClanahan said.

McClanahan packs the meat or chicken and its marinade in sealed containers and takes along the grill and cooking utensils "to do some cooking at the picnic site," she said.

Cured meats -- ham, sausage, beef jerky, etc. -- are good choices because they're already cooked, so they are safe to pack and carry along on the road, McClanahan said.

Fresh fruits and vegetables are also good choices for picnic-goers, McClanahan said.

"And there's lots of sweet dips that have marshmallow cream and things like that, that are not sour cream-based that are good with fruit," she said.

And McClanahan likes pasta salads made without mayonnaise, "and there's a gazillion of those," she said. "Italian dressings make great marinades, and they go well with seafood or ham and cheese, that type of thing."

She also suggests trying beverages a little more exotic than canned soda and Kool-Aid, such as adding fresh strawberries to lemonade or trying bottled sparkling beverages.

Picnics are all about summer fun, but it's important to remember food safety, says Maude Harris, a nutrition/health specialist with the Scott County Extension office.

Keeping foods properly refrigerated is crucial to help prevent food poisoning, Harris said.

Perishable foods like the popular cold fried chicken and potato salad, or hamburger patties, steaks and mayonnaise-based salads and dressings need to be kept chilled in a cooler packed with ice or freezer packs.

Putting chilled canned or bottled drinks in the cooler with the food will help add insulation, Harris said.

"If at all possible, if you have the room, it's best to keep the cooler in the inside part of the car, instead of in the trunk, because that's the coolest part of the car," she said.

If the kids are coming along, it might be wise to pack two coolers -- one for the drinks, and one for the food. That way the kids can get all the cold drinks they want without anyone having to worry about the food getting too warm as the cooler is opened and closed, Harris said.

"Once you've eaten the meal, you want to remember the two-hour rule," she said. Pack up any leftovers back into the cooler within two hours after the meal.

If it's hotter than 90 degrees outside, though, perishable leftovers should be packed up within one hour, Harris said.

Mayonnaise often gets the blame when food poisoning arises, but it doesn't always deserve it, Harris said.

"Anything that's mayonnaise-based should be kept on ice, but it's not the mayonnaise you buy at the store that's the food-poisoning villain," she said.

Store-bought mayonnaise contains lemon juice or vinegar, both of which are acidic enough to slow down the growth of bacteria that cause food poisoning, she said.

Most homemade mayonnaises don't contain either vinegar or lemon juice, so bacteria can develop more quickly if the foods aren't kept cold enough.

And it may not be the mayonnaise that goes bad at all.

"It's usually the food that's mixed with the mayonnaise that can actually spoil first, although everyone blames it on the mayonnaise," she said.

To make cleanup after the picnic easier, McClanahan suggests wrapping cooking utensils or flatware in a towel and carrying along a bottle of water.

"Then you automatically have clean-up right there," she said. "You have a towel with water. You can keep your silverware nice and you can wrap it up in the towel and take it back home."

Picnic food safety

-- Keep foods refrigerated. Mayonnaise-based salads and dressings, meats, cheeses, dips and dressings not kept cold are breeding grounds for the bacteria that cause food poisoning.

-- Take along bottled water if the picnic grounds you'll be attending don't have a safe water source.

-- Canned fruits and vegetables are safe alternatives to fresh if refrigeration or packing is a concern.

-- Pack the cooler inside the car instead of in the trunk if at all possible to help keep food even colder.

-- If you're cooking food at the picnic grounds, remember food safety basics. Keep the utensils you use for raw foods separate from the utensils you use for handling the cooked foods. Keep meats and marinades well-chilled, and don't use marinade from raw meat or chicken on the cooked product.