Remember these food safety and storage tips when camping and on holidays so everyone will avoid stomach upset problems, which no one wants anytime especially when away from home on holidays.
When you are using an esky or cooler and ice for perishable food, don’t wait until you have run out of ice before purchasing more. Ice is readily available at service stations, bottle shops, supermarkets and general stores even in remote areas, when we have been camping we have found we could buy ice virtually everywhere. Keep your cooler or esky in shade at all times and keep food in plastic containers or water tight bags.
Keep your drinks in a separate esky or cooler for convenience and so you are not constantly releasing the cool air and the ice will last longer.
When you leave your cooler/esky or fridge outside and you leave your camp for any length of time make sure animals cannot tip it over and try to get to the contents.
If you prepare some frozen meals before you leave home, store them in plastic containers, place in your esky/cooler or fridge. This will help retain the cooler temperature while it is frozen. When the food is defrosted you will have some easy to prepare meals.
Dry foods should be placed in secure boxes or tubs and put out of site of animals and out of the sun. Store them in your vehicle, trailer, tent etc.
If your family like jelly or something similiar make a batch in the morning, place it in a suitable small plastic container, place it in your fridge or cooler near the ice. It will be ready for easy sweets later in the day.
Generally veges and fruit are hard to keep for more than a few days, either they go frosty if you keep them in a fridge or cooler or they sweat in a box or insulated bag. The only way that I have found helps is wrapping the fruit or veges loosely in paper towel or cloth tea towels and keep them in a insulated bag with the zip open slightly and out of the sun. Only wash them just before using especially lettuce and just wash the portion you are going to use.
If any foods smell off, are out of date or don’t look right, don’t use them, it’s not worth getting a upset stomach or worse ‘the chuckys’.
Never be tempted to cook anything in your tent, one spark or a flame touching anything flammable is very dangerous.
Food can be pre measured and kept in ziplock bags to make easy preparation. Rather than taking a large bag of rice for example. Work out how many meals you will need it for and take the appropriate amount. Do the same for other foods and you will find that you will be taking less, therefore a smaller box or tub will be required?
Wash the dishes as soon as you can after your meal and dispose of your scraps in the nearest bin or in a responsible way without encouraging the wildlife to visit your camp.
Have you got any food safety or storage tips that you found useful when you have been doing the camp cooking?
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