Tailgating

  • Porta handwashing in Overland Park, Kansas

    Posted: September 26th, 2009 - 9:02pm by Doug Powell

    College football is OK as a sport. It’s no hockey, but the carnival atmosphere for five hours of tailgating before kickoff is something uniquely American.

    At Kansas State University there is a permanent section adjacent to one of the parking lots – it’s called Cat Town -- where several university departments host informal functions for hundreds of people before home games.

    The veterinary college, where I am academically housed, always hosts a spread and it’s always well attended. More gets done in five minutes at Cat Town than hours of meetings during the week.

    With all the discussion of H1N1 flu and the emphasis on handwashing, several of the Cat Town tents had hand sanitizers prominently available. But why not go one step further, with the potable handwashing facility?

    The people who make porta potties have apparently figured this out, and Gonzalo send these pics back from Overland Park, Kansas, this afternoon while attending some fall fair thingy.
     

    Your rating: None
    Bookmark and Share
    Handwashing  |  0 Comments
    Football, Kansas State University, Portable, Tailgating
  • Stick it in: Use a thermometer to cook foods so your friends don't barf at football

    Posted: August 28th, 2008 - 6:22pm by Doug Powell

    U.S. college football kicks off Saturday. Time to put on your favorite school’s colors and brush up on that fight song. Thousands of students and alumni will be heading out to the stadium, tailgating, and firing up those grills. Hamburgers, chicken, ribs, or beans, there will be plenty of food on hand.

    Use a food thermometer to make sure you aren’t serving your friends and family undercooked meats. Make sure to cook ground beef to 160°F(1), while chicken needs to reach 165°F(2). That way when your team takes the field, you aren’t puking or stuck on the toilet. And using a thermometer will make you a better cook. People are impressed by this. Good food safety will allow you to fully enjoy the tailgating atmosphere, so you can cheer your school onto victory.

    It’s all on video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmyMmjfFo5Y

    References

    1: Ryan, Suzanne M., Mark Seyfert, Melvin C. Hunt, Richard A. Mancini. Influence of Cooking Rate, Endpoint Temperature, Post-cook Hold Time, and Myoglobin Redox State on Internal Color Development of Cooked Ground Beef Patties. Journal of Food Science. Volume 71 Issue 3 Page C216-C221, April 2006
    http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2621.2006.tb15620.x?prevSearch=authorsfield%3A%28M.C.+Hunt%29

    2: Focus On: Chicken. Food Safety and Inspection Service. United States Department of Agriculture. April 4, 2006. http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/chicken_food_safety_focus/index.asp
     

     

    Your rating: None
    Bookmark and Share
    Food Safety Policy, Thermometers  |  0 Comments
    College, Football, Tailgating
  • Top Chef tailgating

    Posted: April 17th, 2008 - 11:07am by Doug Powell

    Ryan learned on Top Chef last night that California-style tailgating doesn't play too well in the heartland -- or at least, Chicago.

    Accurately measuring whether food is safe or not is also not high on the Top Chef to-do list. Sure, the Australian dude (or New Zealand, the show refers to him interchangeably, which will equally please the Aussies and Kiwis) was chastised for being unsanitary -- cross contamination and double dipping -- but use a tip-sensitive digital thermometer to ensure safety and quality. Sick it in.

    Check out our youtube video of tailgaters at Kansas State's last home game - against Missouri -- back in Nov. 2007.



    Your rating: None
    Bookmark and Share
    Food Safety Policy, Thermometers  |  0 Comments
    Tailgating, Top Chef
  • Football, food safety and family

    Posted: November 18th, 2007 - 3:22pm by Doug Powell

    My parents and two youngest (of four) daughters visited Manhattan -- er, Kansas -- for a pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving party Friday night, a full day of tailgating and football Saturday (K-State sucked but a great day for socializing) and what else, a visit to the Wizard of Oz museum Sunday in nearby Wamego.

    Prior to the football game Saturday, Andrew Reece and I walked around and interviewed people about food safety stuff and food preparation. We got some great material. Look for that video in the near future.

    Your rating: None
    Bookmark and Share
    Food Safety Culture, Food Safety Policy, Raw Food  |  0 Comments
    Tailgating
  • Kansas State: Football and food safety

    Posted: September 30th, 2007 - 7:42pm by Doug Powell

    After defeating a ranked University of Texas team two years in a row -- this time a 41-21 thumping last night in Austin -- Kansas State is ranked 24 in the Associated Press poll, its first national ranking in years.

    K-State will be home next Saturday to cross-state rivals, University of Kansas, and superfan Amy -- who took time out from the Orlando itinerary to watch the entire Texas game at the ESPN Zone -- and I will be there.

    The concessions at the KState football stadium are inspected by the Manhattan-Riley County Health Department. Each week, The Manhattan Mercury publishes the results of restaurant inspections. Last week, the results from the concession stands inspected were relatively good, with the major violation being hot food held at too cool temperatures. Tailgating for the sold out game will bring its own risks, but we'll be there, digital, tip-sensitive thermometers in hand.
    Your rating: None
    Bookmark and Share
    Food Safety Culture, Food Safety Policy, Raw Food  |  1 Comment
    Tailgating
  • It's delicious... It's tailgating!

    Posted: September 8th, 2007 - 11:19pm by Amy Hubbell

    In college football, the Kansas State Wildcats opened at home tonight in Manhattan with a somewhat boring 34-14 victory over San Jose State. The Cats are full of surprises, and not always good ones. When you think they have the other team in check, they give up touchdowns, like in the 4th quarter tonight.

    The same is true of K-State tailgating. We tailgated tonight in Cat Town with some of Doug’s lab members. First we ate brauts at the Veterinary Medicine tent, and then we found burgers at Animal Science. Angela asked me where the meat thermometers were, and I replied, “I’m sure they’re in that box with their cooking equipment.” We didn’t see one, so I proposed that maybe they had a standardized cooking procedure with pre-frozen patties and a clear cooking time charted out. Doug said that when they saw him arrive, the cooks called out, “Don’t worry. They’re done!” (We found out later that they use pre-cooked burgers; so indeed, they were done.)

    We then went to a private tailgate party where the pregnant hostess, when introduced to Doug the Food Safety Professor, said, “We always try to keep things really safe here!” I didn’t look for thermometers there. By then my stomach was too full to even think about a cookie.

    We’ve been thinking about tailgate publicity and reality research possibilities, like meat thermometers with Willie the Wildcat on them and final cooking temperature charts on stickers. Or tonight I thought it would be cool to have backpack coolers with cooking temps printed on them. We like slogans like, “Get‘r done,” and “Stick it in.” I also liked Andrew’s blogpost with the “Heat ‘em up, eat ‘em up” battle cry. But since we have a blog with, hopefully, a few readers, I thought I would put the question out to you. What would compel you to practice safe food handling at a tailgate? There are so many distractions, limited facilities, no running water in the parking lot, and plenty of people coming by and dipping into food unexpectedly. It’s delicious, and not just from the microorganisms' point of view.  Please share your comments, questions, and ideas on tailgating safely.

    Post a comment below.

    [pictured is a KSU branding iron (not a thermometer) with this description: "Your sizzling hot Original Barbeque Brand Tailgate Tool can sear the pride of the K-State WIld Cats into most any food item. It's for more than just meat! Buns, tortillas, potatoes, pie crusts, let your pride run wild!"]
    Your rating: None
    Bookmark and Share
    Food Safety Culture, Thermometers  |  4 Comments
    Football, Kansas State University, Tailgate, Tailgating, Wildcats, Willie The Wildcat
  • Heat em up, eat em up... KSU!

    Posted: August 31st, 2007 - 6:35pm by Andrew Reece



    My favorite time of year is here, college football season. My team, the Kansas State University Wildcats kicks off their season Saturday night on the road against Auburn. Even though I won't be traveling to the game I'll still be doing the one thing I love to do before a home game, grilling out. To me, nothing is better than getting in some brats and burgers before walking up to the stadium to cheer on my cats. However, the tailgating scene can get pretty crazy sometimes and food safety may slip some people's minds. Here are some good tips for the tailgating season.
    • Keep cold food in a cooler at less than 40°F (and keep there beers this cold too!)
    • Make sure the different meats are kept wrapped to prevent cross contamination. Making a burger topped with chicken is delicious, but stacking these meats is only acceptable after cooking
    • Cook food to the right temperature
      • Steaks (beef, pork, fish, lamb) - 145°F
      • Ground (beef, pork, lamb) - 160°F
      • Chicken (whole, ground) - 165°F
    • Probably the smartest thing you can have is a meat thermometer. It's the only true and tested way to tell if the food is done, and many are small enough to fit in your pocket. These should be a tailgater's best friend.
    • Hot foods should not be left out for more than 2 hours. As much as you might want to have some food after the game, it is not acceptable to leave the burgers out for all 4 quarters. Put it away and reheat if needed.
                  (source: FDA)


    The post title is a play on a popular chant at K-state games, thus I find it easy to remember to heat my foods to the proper temperatures. Starting next week you can find me at the Bill Snyder Family Stadium cooking, and losing my voice inside the stadium (from about where the picture above was taken).

        Prediction: KSU 21 - Auburn 20
    Your rating: None
    Bookmark and Share
    Food Safety Policy, Thermometers  |  2 Comments
    Football, Tailgating, Temperature