Keep Your Cooler In This Part Of The Car For Safe 4th Of July Picnic Transport

What sounds better than a festive picnic for this Fourth of July? We'd argue nothing, but we can think of something that would quickly spoil the fun: food poisoning. Al fresco eats are the best, but only when they're safe — and because Independence Day occurs mid-summer when temperatures are soaring, this requires a little extra attention. When you're transporting food to your picnic destination, it's crucial you keep it in the car itself rather than in the trunk. Many of us might assume the trunk is a protected space that may stay cooler because it's dark. However, the trunk is actually the worst place because the car's air conditioning can't reach it. Keep coolers with you where you and your hot dogs can enjoy that nice, cool air together.

Always follow the key rule of transporting food for summertime picnics, which is avoiding what the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) calls "the danger zone," between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. In this range, bacteria can wreak havoc on food, rendering it unsafe for consumption. Essentially, food either needs to be at refrigerator temperatures below 40 degrees or cooked above 140. Anything in between is risky — this means no partially cooking meats to save time at the picnic, by the way. Keep everything cold until hot foods are supposed to get hot. Once served, neither hot nor cold foods should sit out for more than two hours or one hour if it's over 90 degrees outside.

Picnic baskets are aesthetically quite pleasing, but they offer zero safety when it comes to necessary temperature control on a summer's day. Instead, use an insulated cooler. It's worth researching the best insulated cooler backpacks or roller bags, since they're more reliable picnic after picnic. If you happen to have two, it's extra smart to keep uncooked meat and seafood in separate bags. If you only have one, just wrap those foods up to separate them from other items. Love the look of a basket too much? Place additional pantry items, like chips, in it for display at the picnic itself — you can find a handy and stylish insulated picnic basket.

Additionally, make sure to use ice packs to prolong the chill inside your coolers. You can even freeze some food items before heading out to keep them colder longer. When shopping for your favorite picnic recipes, pick the freshest produce possible. And when cooking, serving, and enjoying the finished dishes outside, keep covered anything not being currently eaten to stave off the sun's hot rays. For leftovers, it's better to wrap them up completely and get them back in an ice pack-filled cooler. You can always take them back out, but if they sit out for an hour or more in the heat, they're no longer safe to eat.