Family Living Focus by Margaret R. Malehorn Cumberland Co. Extension Agent National Food Safety Education Month: Store It. Don’t Ignore It. September celebrates the Na tional Food Safety Education Month with a new theme focus ing on proper food storage. We’ll relate the theme “Store It. Don’t Ignore It” to the millions of Americans who carry “bag” lunches off to school or work every day. All our food must be handled and cooked safely. Perishable foods should be kept cold while commuting by bus, bicycle, on foot, or in a car. When you arrive at school or work, keep foods cold until lunchtime to prevent harmful bacteria from multiply ing. Pack just the amount of per ishable food that can be eaten at lunch. That way, there won’t be a problem about the storage or safety of leftovers. Handling and preparing food properly is equally important— whether cooking from scratch, serving take-out meals and res taurant leftovers, or packed lunches calls for everyone to be vigilant. Penn State Cooperative Exten sion research resources show bac teria grow rapidly in the “danger zone” the temperatures be- shop*vac jjDfO if.Tr * »i»ib* nwmw „ ► Carpet/Bare Floors i | Round ifexish .^Lk* ► Kitchen chnn-i#sio B*l lU|i*W<lt* If It Doesn't Say Shop*Vac, Keep Shopping!® the Original wet/dry vac Come and see the complete line of the #l-selling brand of wet/dry vacs, filters and accessories. www.shopvac.com Shop-Vac® is a registered trademark of Shop-Vac Corporation. tween 41 and 140 F. The refriger ator temperature should be 40 degrees Fahrenheit and the freezer should be zero F. Check both “fridge” and freezer periodi cally with a refrigerator/freezer thermometer. Packages for the freezer should be tightly sealed to prevent loss of moisture. Wrap irregular shapes in flexible material removing any air trapped between food surfaces and package material. Packages should be moisture and vapor proof, odorless, tasteless, and re sistant to tears and breakage. It’s fine to prepare the food the night before and store the packed lunch in the refrigerator. Freez ing sandwiches helps them stay cold. However, for best quality, don’t freeze sandwiches con taining mayonnaise, lettuce, or tomatoes. Add these later. Insu lated, soft-sided lunch boxes or bags are best for keeping food cold. An ice source should be packed with perishable food in any type of lunch bag or box. On the other hand use an insulated container to keep food like soup, chili, and stew hot. Fill the con tainer with boiling water, let stand for a few minutes, empty, and then put in the piping hot food. Keep the insulated con ;|ir- rii!/-.d,:<-ii,r.^... Crevk»laol JFT£IJ / ► Hard-to-Reach Spots r is Ik 1 ► Efficient Filtration for Easy Clean Up tainer closed until lunchtime to keep the food hot 140 F or above. Prepare cooked food, such as turkey, ham, chicken, and vege table or pasta salads, ahead of time to allow for thorough chil ling in the refrigerator. Divide large amounts of food into shal low containers for fast chilling and easier use. Keep cooked food refrigerated until time to leave home. When using the micro wave oven to reheat lunches, cover food to hold in moisture and promote safe, even heating. Reheat leftovers to at least 165 F. Food should be steaming hot. Cook frozen convenience meals according to package instruc tions. It’s important not to crowd the refrigerator or freezer so tightly that air can’t circulate. Check the leftovers in covered dishes and storage bags daily for spoilage. Anything that looks or smells suspicious should be thrown out. A sure sign of spoilage is the presence of mold, which can grow even under refrigeration. Mold makes food unappetizing and should be discarded. But you might be able to save molding hard cheeses, salami, and firm fruits and vegetables if you cut out not only the mold, but a large area around it to remove the mold growth below the surface. Check your pantry to de termine the condition of canned goods through the year. A sticky surface might indicate a leak. Newly purchased cans that ap pear to be leaking should be re turned to the store, which should notify the FDA. For further information about food safety and Cooking for Crowds, a food safety program for volunteers, contact Penn State Cooperative Extension in your county. www.lowes.com ©2003 Lowe's® Home Centers, Inc Lowe's® and the gable design are registered trademarks of LF, LLC For the Lowe's nearest you call 1-800-44-LOWES Prices may vary if there are market variations Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 13, 2003-B5 Brown Bagging Can Save Calories, Cash Packing lunch can be a great idea, both financially and nutrition-wise. Of course, some savings will be offset by higher grocery bills, but if your family can save just $5 a day on lunches, you can put an other $lOO in the bank each month. When planning lunches, it’s important to consider the tastes of your family members —don’t make sandwiches on wheat bread when your first grader insists on white. Keep ing that in mind, here are a few ideas for satisfying lunch es; • Choose whole-grain bread for sandwiches. It offers more fiber and trace vitamins and minerals than “regular” white or wheat bread. Look for the term ‘whole grain” or “whole wheat” on the ingredi ents label. You can also add interest and variety in sand wiches by using sandwich buns or bagels every once in a while. You can even use crois sants occasionally, but they are high in fat and calories. • Be careful in choosing “juice” boxes. Buy those with 100 percent juice rather than ones with large amounts of re fined sugar. • Include at least one fruit and one vegetable. Fresh fruits such as apples, bananas, oranges, peaches, nectarines and grapes are always good choices, but be sure to rinse and wipe them off before packing the lunch. Other pos sibilities include pop-top cans of pineapple, peaches, fruit cocktail or other canned fruits; snack-sized raisins or other dried fruits; or snack-sized ap plesauce. Handy vegetables in clude carrots, celery sticks, cherry or grape tomatoes, slic ed cucumber, and bell pepper strips. • Consider including a car ton of yogurt, as long as you can keep your lunch cool. Yo gurt is a good way to include calcium in the meal when milk isn’t an option. Low-fat string cheese is a good source of cal cium, too. • When no refrigeration is available, use an insulated lunch carrier with a frozen gel pack and pre-chill beverages and other items to keep con tents cool. Or, you can freeze lunch-meat sandwiches (with out lettuce, tomato or mayon naise) and juice boxes over night —they should be thawed by lunchtime. Or, pack items that don’t need to be kept cool: peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches; canned meat or fish; fresh fruit and vegetables. • Steer away from ready made lunch packs that are high in sodium and calories and low in nutrition. Chow Line is a service of Ohio State University Exten sion and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. Send questions to Chow Line, do Martha Filipic, 2021 Coffey Road, Columbus, OH 43210-1044, or filipic.3@osu.edu. Improving Home improvement'
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