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Buffets are a popular way to serve food at holiday parties and dinners. But buffets --
where foods are left out for long periods of time -- leave the door open for uninvited guests:
bacteria that cause foodborne illness. Here are some tips to help keep your holiday parties and
buffets trouble free.
Always wash your hands before and after handling food. Keep your kitchen, dishes
and utensils clean also. Always serve food on clean plates, not those that previously held raw
meat or poultry. Otherwise, bacteria in raw meat juices can contaminate the food being served.
Cook foods thoroughly. This has always been important, but it is even more critical
today in the wake of continued outbreaks of foodborne illness caused by E. coli 0157:H7
bacteria. Use a meat thermometer to make sure that the center of meat and poultry reaches a safe
temperature. Fresh roast beef is still considered relatively safe if cooked to the medium-rare stage
(145 degrees F.). Cook all other meat, fish and ground red meats to 160 degrees F., and whole
turkeys to 180 degrees F.
Think safety when preparing foods in advance. If time on the day of the buffet is short,
you may want to prepare several items ahead of time. Make sure you have adequate freezer or
refrigerator space for this. Divide cooked meats and dishes into small shallow containers to store
in the refrigerator or freezer until serving. Reheat foods to be served hot to 165 degrees F.
Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. To keep hot dishes at 140 degrees or warmer,
use chafing dishes, crock pots or warming trays. Keep cold foods at 40 degrees F or below by
nesting dishes in bowls of ice. Otherwise, use small serving trays and replace items often.
Keep foods moving. If you can't keep perishable foods hot or cold, keep them moving.
Arrange and serve food on several small platters rather than on one large platter. Keep the rest of
the food hot in the oven (200 to 250 degrees F) or cold in the refrigerator until serving time. For
safety's sake, replace empty platters with new ones, rather than adding fresh food to a serving
dish that has been sitting out and from which people have been taking food.
If in doubt, throw it out. When the party's over, discard any perishable foods that have
been at room temperature for two hours or more. Store salvageable leftovers in the refrigerator
for use within two to three days, or in the freezer for longer storage.
For more information, contact your local
Colorado State University Extension office.
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