When Picnicking This Weekend Remember to Keep Hot Foods Hot, Cold Foods Cold

Forecasters are calling for temperatures to climb back in the upper 80s and low 90s for the next several days, and Iowans who will be out enjoying the summer weather need to remember to take precautions with their picnics. Kristi Zweifel, a dietician at Van Diest Medical Center in Webster City, says it’s wise to keep hot foods hot, and cold foods cold.

Zweifel says to take particular care with foods like chicken salad, potato salad and desserts, especially when it’s getting steamy.

Larger entrees might be safe for a while in a casserole container with built-in freezer packs, but most everything else needs to go in a cooler.

The FDA says cold, perishable food should be kept in the cooler at 40-degrees or colder, while hot food needs to be kept hot at or above 140-degrees.