Page 11
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2010
ODA shares outdoor food-safety reminders
Now at the height of
summer, Oregonians are do-
ing a lot more outdoor cook-
ing and eating.
The potential for food-
borne illness increases during
July and August. The Oregon
Dept. of Agriculture’s (ODA)
Food Safety Division offers
seasonal advice on “how to
enjoy a problem-free summer
of eating.”
“The number of food
borne illness outbreaks typi-
cally goes up in the summer
because people are cooking
outside, eating outside, and
changing their habits a bit,”
said Susan Kendrick, ODA
Food Safety Specialist.
“Everyone just needs to be
more careful with food han-
dling and preparation.”
When the cooking and
eating takes place outdoors,
people lose the convenience
of a sink with running water
or a refrigerator to keep food
cold. Nonetheless, most of the
same rules for food handling,
preparation, and storage apply
for outdoors and indoors.
Outbreaks of E. coli and
salmonella in raw produce the
past couple of years should
not deter people from enjoy-
ing fresh fruits and vegetables
this summer.
“We’d like to emphasize
that you wash the produce
when you get it home,” said
Kendrick. “Even if it’s a can-
taloupe – you aren’t going to
eat the exterior rind, but you
are going to slice into it. So
it’s still a great idea to wash
the whole cantaloupe before
eating it.”
Melons are grown on the
ground where the rind can
come in contact with animal
waste used as fertilizer. When
melons are cut, the knife
might transfer bacteria to the
inside of the fruit.
Unlike meat, there is
usually no cooking step for
fresh, ready-to-eat produce to
heat and kill bacteria. How-
ever, the cook needs to be
certain that raw meat is thor-
oughly cooked.
“It’s a good idea to thaw
a product like hamburger in
the refrigerator prior to cook-
ing,” said Kendrick. “You
want to make sure you don’t
have a pocket inside the ham-
burger that is still frozen and
may take longer to cook. The
entire burger needs to be
cooked evenly and thor-
oughly.”
Ideally, a thermometer
should be used to make sure
the proper cooking tempera-
ture of the meat on the grill is
reached. But that isn’t always
practical. At the very least,
cutting into the meat, or close
to the bone in the case of
chicken, will ensure there
isn’t any pink inside. Cooking
temperatures should reach at
least 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Any time raw meat and
fresh produce are part of a
meal preparation, cross-
contamination is always a
possibility. When handling
any raw meat – either taking
it to a barbecue or another
preparation area – make sure
that tongs, spatulas, scoops,
and the platter carrying the
meat are all exchanged with a
fresh, clean utensil or platter
to carry the cooked product
back to the table.
Cutting boards used in
food preparation are also a
potential source of problems.
Using the same board to cut
up chicken and then to chop
salad ingredients should be
avoided. The raw products
have organisms that could
produce illness if spread to
ready-to-eat products.
Handwashing is not as
practical in the summer, but it
is just as critical as other
times of the year. While wa-
terless hand sanitizers are
available, nothing beats the
old-fashioned method of us-
ing soap and running water to
mechanically remove bacteria
from hands.
Food needs to be kept
out of the temperature danger
zone – which is 40 to 140
degrees Fahrenheit – for as
long as possible. Even before
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cooking, food transported to a
picnic area or campsite needs
to be kept in coolers filled
with plenty of ice until it is
time to prepare or consume
the food.
Keeping that cooler or
ice chest in the shade, if pos-
sible, might buy some addi-
tional time. Remember that
food products will warm
quickly when taken out of a
cooler and set on the table.
Bacteria begins to grow rap-
idly as the temperature warms
up. Food that needs to be
cooked should stay refriger-
ated or be prepared as soon as
possible.
Once the food is cooked,
it’s important to tell everyone
to come and get it.
“It’s really a good idea if
you don’t leave the food out
for more than two to three
hours,” said Kendrick. “If you
are camping or on a picnic
and using a cooler, it would
be great to not have leftovers.
“Just throwing left over
food in the cooler can some-
times be a problem because
it’s hard to bring the tempera-
ture down rapidly in a cooler.
Again, we want to minimize
the amount of time food is in
the danger zone.”
Planning helps. Accu-
rately assessing how much
food to bring on an outing is a
great way to avoid potential
problems later. Another good
idea is to offer foods that are
shelf stable and don’t require
preparation or refrigeration.
Nonperishable food items like
potato chips, dried fruit rolls,
and uncut fresh fruits and
vegetables will hold up well
during picnics and camping.
Of course, the old ex-
pression, “When in doubt,
throw it out,” is a good and
easy one to remember.
Most summer food safety
recommendations are just
common sense. As long as
people are careful about how
food is handled, prepared, and
stored, campouts, picnics, and
barbecues can be fun, safe,
and delicious.
Drought-tolerant plants
a ‘waterwise’ choice
Some of the most popu-
lar garden annuals and peren-
nials are “waterwise” plants,
which once established, sur-
vive in gardens with little or
no irrigation.
They include lavender,
blanket flower, black-eyed
Susan and California fuschia,
for example.
“Often these sturdy
plants are planted in mixed
perennial or shrub borders
and given the same care as
the surrounding plants,” said
Linda McMahan, Oregon
State University Extension
horticulturist with Yamhill
County. “But this intermixing
uses more water than is nec-
essary and does not take best
advantage of the drought-
hardy plants.”
If the plants are placed
together, they not only make
beautiful gardens, but are an
efficient way to reduce land-
scape water use. “About one-
third of our public water is
used for landscape irrigation,”
McMahan said. “Waterwise
plants can save money and
water quality.”
To create a waterwise
garden, first choose plants
known for their efficient water
use, McMahan advises, then
check to make sure they are
hardy in your growing zone.
Local OSU Extension offices
can help. For profiles of many
waterwise plants, visit exten-
sion.oregonstate.edu/yamhill/
eco-gardening/waterwise-
gardening
Lavender is a popular
waterwise plant with many
species and color forms avail-
able. The small English lav-
ender is known botanically as
Lavendula angustifolia, and
has a shorter stature than the
Spanish lavender, Lavendula
stoeches.
Most gardeners count
lavender as an herb and are
often surprised to learn of its
drought-hardy properties.
However, lavender and other
herbs such as sage and rose-
mary originated in the Medi-
terranean, where dry sum-
mers have lead to adaptations
for drought-resistance.
Many other popular wa-
terwise plants originated in
the U.S. prairie states or the
American Southeast. These
include popular plants such as
black-eyed
Susan
(Rudbeckia), purple cone-
flower (Echinacea), blanket
flower (Gaillardia), and tick-
seed (Coreopsis).
Purp le coneflower
(Echincea purpurea) is a
popular choice. Color forms
vary from purple and laven-
der found in wild plants to
white. Popular new varieties
include colors ranging from
yellow to orange as well.
“Don’t forget the sun-
flower,” McMahan said.
“This old standby originated
on U.S. prairies and counts
among the annual plants that
are waterwise.”
In this country, the clos-
est climate to Mediterranean
is in California, and it’s not
surprising that many of our
waterwise plants come from
there. One of the best is the
California fuschia, usually
sold as Zauchneria califor-
nica, McMahan said. The late
summer and early fall blooms
are typically a reddish orange,
and the pendant blooms at-
tract hummingbirds and other
pollinators.
Other selected color
forms including yellow, white
and salmon, also have been
developed and often are avail-
able in nurseries.
Another good pick is the
California
poppy
(Eschscholtzia californica), a
hardy annual that will self-
seed in the garden.
“These plants, like most
waterwise plants, will tolerate
water, but it is best to plant
them together so they all re-
ceive their own special care
and produce water savings,”
McMahan said.
“Many plants native to
Oregon also qualify as water-
wise. Oregon iris (Iris tenax)
is a good choice. The laven-
der-to-purplish blooms are a
welcome addition to late
spring gardens. Other North-
west-native iris and many
local wildflowers are all
worthwhile.”
Some 3,000 pounds of potatoes found their way to food
pantries throughout Illinois Valley on Wednesday, July 28
through the work of the Rotary First Harvest program. I.V.
Rotarian Carol Ronan delivered spuds to Selma Open Door,
Life Lines Ministry, the I.V. Family Coalition and Cave Junc-
tion Seventh-Day Adventist Church’s Community Services
program (above). The Rotary First Harvest project recovers
fresh produce that might otherwise go to waste and makes it
available to low income families in Southern Oregon.
(Photo by Michelle Binker, Illinois Valley News )
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