Meals at the pool come in many forms – ordered from the snack bar, delivered from local restaurants, packed from home, or carried outside from the kitchen. Follow these food safety steps to keep splashing and playing mermaids all summer long!
Stay in the Splash Zone and Avoid the Danger Zone
The Danger Zone is the temperature range where bacteria multiply rapidly between 40 degrees F and 140 degrees F. To avoid the Danger Zone, cold foods must be kept at 40 degrees F or below by placing them in the refrigerator, insulated coolers with cold sources, or nestled over ice. If not using cold sources, do not leave foods out for more than 2-hours (or 1-hour if food is exposed to temperatures above 90 degrees F). After these timeframes, they are no longer safe and should be discarded.
Cool Pool Snacks
Perishable snacks like deli meats, cut fruit and vegetables, cheese, and yogurt need to follow the 2-hour rule (1-hour when above 90 degrees F), or be kept cold under 40 degrees F. Non-perishable pool snacks like jerky, crackers, chips, popcorn, pretzels, candy, trail mix, and granola bars can withstand the summer heat and remain safe without being kept cold.
~Pool Dinner~
Pool meals are often an assortment of items. No matter what you’re eating, keep it safe:
- If cooking food: always use a food thermometer to cook to a safe minimum internal temperature.
- If packing food: pack into an insulated bag or cooler with enough cold sources to keep below 40 degrees F or follow the 2-hour rule (1-hour when above 90 degrees F).
- If delivering food: consume within 2 hours (1-hour when above 90 degrees F). Chill any perishable leftovers below 40 degrees F or discard them if it’s been longer than 2 hours (1-hour when above 90 degrees F).
Have questions?
Talk to a food safety specialist and get answers to your questions about food safety.
- For non-meat food products (cereals, fish, produce, fruit juice, pastas, cheeses, etc.): Contact the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition’s Food and Cosmetic Information Center at 1-888-SAFEFOOD (toll free), Monday through Friday 10 AM to 4 PM ET (except Thursdays from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM ET and Federal holidays).
- For meat, poultry and egg products, contact the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) email MPHotline@usda.gov, or chat live at ask.usda.gov from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday in English and Spanish.