Summer Birthdays: Steps To A Fun And Safe Party Part 3 of 3
Food Safety
Consider offering foods that do not contain mayonnaise, cream, sour cream dips, or any dairy products for that matter. If you feel it necessary to provide these types of foods to your guests, make sure to keep them refrigerated up until you are ready for them to be consumed. After everyone has gotten their share, get them directly to cold storage for safe keeping. Although it is tempting to put out a huge spread of attractive foods to wow your guests, don’t fall prey to this unsafe temptation. If people are going to be continuously snacking instead of eating one sit down meal at the same time, put out the snacks and foods in a rotating schedule so that nothing stays out for very long. If perishable food is allowed to come up to room temperature, it will not be safe to eat, even after being chilled again. Don’t forget that some beverages such as juice have to play by these same rules as well. If the bottle says to refrigerate after opening, that should be taken seriously because it means that if it is allowed to sit out for long it will go bad and could pose a serious health risk to individuals at your get together. No one wants to be remembered for serving the food that made everyone sick and no one needs that guilt on their conscience. Play it safe and don’t take chances with the food you serve.
Another good idea is to place individual servings of foods in small paper cups or containers, include a plastic fork or spoon and make sure to cover them tightly. This will help to cut down on the number of people that will be handling and looming over the food, possibly contaminating it.
Basically, your goal should be to keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. You can enlist the help of large bowls, buckets, or troughs of ice or, for hot foods, electric warmers in order to make sure your food stays healthy and edible.
Make sure to ask each guest to report any allergies to you BEFORE the party. If there are any, namely peanut, seafood, or wheat allergies, don’t take on the task of trying to keep the contaminated separate from the allergen free foods. This can be much trickier than it seems, especially if the allergy is severe. Instead, work you menu to avoid using the allergen at all, this way you won’t have to have the stress of trying to make sure the allergic person or people don’t come in contact with the harmful substance on your watch. Even so, it’s never a bad idea to have an epi pen handy in case a sudden onset of an allergic reaction. If the persons allergy is serious, don’t waste time before calling medical personnel.
If you’re looking for more ways to keep your family and others safe at your home you might want to consider an ADT security system. There are some great deals going on now at ADT‘s official web page.
Safe Home & Family 
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