Office Holiday Party Food Safety Tips
Your next company holiday party should be fun and memorable. To make sure the memories you help make are good ones, we recommend that you put some thought into the food that will be served.
Food poisoning is not something that is pleasant to think about or experience during the holidays. In severe cases, it can lead to organ damage or even death. You must take steps takes to prevent it from happening to your employees and guests at your company holiday party.
Keep control of the food
It may seem like a warm holiday gesture ask employees to bring their favorite dishes to the party, but doing so increases the risk of food poisoning. Here are some unwanted guests that may arrive via homemade food.
- Clostridium perfrigens – This bacteria can thrive in foods left out at room temperature. They are found most often in meat dishes and gravy.
- Staphylococcus aureus – Found commonly on skin and the mucus membranes of the throat and nose, when this germ spreads to food, it can quickly multiply. The toxin it produces can cause sickness in one to six hours. Foods at risk include anything made by hand such as potato salad or sandwich filling.
- Salmonella – Usually, this nasty bacteria can be found in dishes containing contaminated poultry, meat, fish or eggs. Any hot dish served in a holiday party setting that is not kept at a constant temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit can serve as a breeding ground for salmonella.
Hire a caterer
Instead of serving risky homemade dishes, offer food from a caterer. Caterers know how to take precautions against food poisoning and can help to make your holiday party safe and enjoyable.
Should the unthinkable happen, you should be prepared. One or more lawsuits against your company can seriously damage your business. One way to prepare is to make sure you have adequate business insurance to cover any expense if your employees or guests get food poisoning.
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