SOUTHEASTERN IN — With Memorial Day weekend coming up, a reminder to properly prepare for those get-togethers with family and friends.
Ripley and Franklin County Health Officer Dr. David Welsh says food safety is job one.
“It’s one thing when you cook for yourself and you’re familiar with things but when you’re cooking for other folks, and food might sit out, it may be different than you’re used to,” Dr. Welsh said.
He said the key is to keep the hot foods hot and the cold foods cold.
“People will often put out a spread where they have people coming over to celebrate the holiday and have a cookout and one of the things is they may have that really good egg salad or potato salad or other cold dishes but they don’t have the means to keep it cold,” Welsh said.
If those foods stay out too long and are not kept at an adequate temperature, people could get sick, he said.
There can be a learning curve at times when it’s been a while since someone grilled out, Dr. Welsh added.
“You want to make sure that you’ve got the meat at the proper temperature so that it’s safe to eat, and you want to make sure things are cooked thoroughly,” he said.
Dr. Welsh recommends visiting your local county health department‘s website or USDA.gov for more food safety tips.
Dr. David Welsh was a guest on Wednesday’s edition of The Daily Pod and discussed various topics. Click here to listen to the entire interview.
