Cooking for Groups

Food Safety at Your Community or Church Suppers

by: Val Hillers, Ph.D. , Extension Food Specialist


9/13/2001

Church and community suppers are wonderful functions that allow people to get together and spend some time together over a meal. Don't let foodborne illness get in the way of enjoying that meal.

Foodborne illness affects millions of people each year. Those that are most susceptible to foodborne illness are senior adults, the chronically ill, pregnant women, and newborns and young children. If you are planning to prepare a meal for a group that includes any of these people, it is especially important to make sure that the food you make is going to be safe.

But how difficult is it to prepare food in a safe manner? As it turns out, it's not as difficult as you might think. There are many ways to reduce the risk of foodborne illness.  The USDA has developed a booklet of information on Cooking for Groups.  This booklet is available online athttp://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/pubs/cfg/cfg.htm, and this site also has information on how to order printed copies of the booklet.