Don’t Let Foodborne Illness Ruin Your Superbowl Party

This weekend marks 50 years of sports history’s greatest event. Many fans treat Superbowl Sunday like a holiday, celebrating the occasion with friends, family, and lots of good food. According to the US Department of Agriculture, more than 1.3 billion chicken wings and 4 million pizzas are expected to be eaten during the big game, which means there are “plenty of opportunities for a food safety penalty to occur.” In preparation for the event, the agency released a set of food safety tips with a football theme.

If you’re hosting a Superbowl party, create a game plan that involves putting safety first. “A long game and a big crowd means more opportunities for food poisoning, but some easy precautions can go far in preventing illness,” the USDA writes. Learn to avoid a personal foul. Check out all the great tips on the USDA website, or get the game highlights here:

1. Replace perishable foods during halftime so fans don’t eat snacks that have been sitting out all game. Leftover foods should be refrigerated promptly and not be kept at room temperature for more than two hours. Perishable foods left out longer than two hours should be discarded.

2. Make sure any meat is fully cooked. Specifications for burgers, steaks, chicken wings, and other favorites can be found on the USDA website or here.

3. Before and after preparing, handling, or eating food, wash hands with warm water and soap for 20 seconds. Use clean plates, dishes, and utensils to serve food, and keep surfaces where food is served and prepared clean.

Aftermath Services may not be on hand to clean your kitchen, but we’re on call 24/7 for those serious situations that require a professional biohazard cleaner. For a full list of our services, visit our website, and be sure to check back on Monday for a special article about cleaning up safely after the big game. May the best team win!