food safety

The summer months are the perfect excuse to spend time at the beach. The best memories in my childhood are with my family enjoying a day at the beach grilling. My parents organized every detail of the trip but looking back and knowing what I know now about food safety, our beach grilling fun could have easily been spoiled with bacteria that could have made us sick.

Does your child’s summer camp itinerary include outdoorsy trips that require them to bring snacks? How will you fulfill their taste buds while keeping perishable snacks safe? How will you make sure kids will clean their hands before eating? These trips will probably be in hot, sunny weather, and that can come with food safety risks. Let’s keep calm and be food safe this summer!

Every day, some 2,000 ARS scientists go to work at over 90 research locations across the United States and abroad. Their job? To deliver scientific and innovative solutions to agricultural challenges affecting our Nation. As part of that job, ARS scientists frequently collaborate with research partners from universities, companies, organizations and even other countries.

With the hurricane season of late summer and early fall behind us, it may be tempting to believe that the weather-related threats to food safety are behind us as well. However, winter storms can cause power outages that disable refrigerators and freezers just as well as summer storms do.

With each holiday season, there are hundreds of people in the Midwest who are sickened after eating cannibal sandwiches – a dish featuring raw ground beef, often seasoned with spices and onions and served on bread or a cracker.

The holidays are here, which means plenty of gatherings with family, friends and food! These get-togethers are usually fun-filled with catching up, laughter and occasional dancing, so don’t let foodborne illness crash your party. One of the best ways to keep foodborne illness off the guest list is to keep your food items at the proper temperatures while you enjoy your party.

Thanksgiving Day is for family and friends. But Thanksgiving weekend is all about you and those amazing leftovers! Before you dig in, keep these tips handy so that leftovers can stay safely stored in the fridge or freezer.

At this time of year, many community groups, volunteer organizations, work places and other groups celebrate Thanksgiving with a potluck meal. When cooking for a large group, it is important to keep in mind the needs of your guests. Do any of your guests have food allergies or dietary restrictions? Could some be at higher risk for foodborne illness because they may be transplant recipients, cancer patients or diabetics? Pregnant women and seniors are also at higher risk.

Everyone is busy these days, but there’s no busy like holiday busy. Now is the time to start making your plans so that your Thanksgiving dinner will be safe and stress-free.

For the past decade and a half, ERS has been highlighting its research through its magazine, Amber Waves. As technology has evolved, so has Amber Waves, but the focus on bringing ERS’s latest agriculture and food research to readers in an engaging and user-friendly format has remained constant. In celebration of Amber Waves’ 15^th Anniversary, we present a selection of its recent noteworthy stories and share its refreshed website.