Holiday Buffets

Is your calendar filled with holiday food festivities, like buffets and potlucks? Today’s food safety in-a-minute will help keep your parties safe for family, friends, and co-workers.

A few precautions are necessary to keep buffets safe. There’s a simple food safety guideline that goes “keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold.” Easy to remember and easy to do! Serve small bowls or small trays of food and replace them frequently. Set out amounts of food that will be eaten in 30 minutes. Use warming trays or slow cookers to keep food hot. Keep cold foods cold by nesting serving containers in bowls of ice. Use a thermometer to make certain your cold food is served at 40 degrees or less and hot food at 140 degrees or higher. Avoid adding fresh food to food that has been sitting out.