Perils at the Picnic
CRACKING THE CASE
KEY for Professor Popcorn 5:5K
What food safety mistakes did Tom make?
See Perils at the Picnic Mistakes page, attached.
What questions would you ask Tom and his friends about what they did?
Did you have a cooler to take? Is there ice or ice packs in it? (You can make your own from cartons or clean
plastic milk jugs).
About the food they were eating?
How did you prepare your lunch? Were there foods to take that were less risky? (Possibly cheddar cheese or
peanut butter and apple sandwiches?)
Does it matter (explain why)…
How long Tom and his friends played ball? They started in the morning and played until lunch, which means
that the foods sat out for more than 2 hours (Many of these foods were already leftovers with small, but
growing colonies of bacteria. Hot weather would have accelerated the growth.) Food shouldn’t be left out in
the temperature danger zone (40 to 140 degrees F) for more than 4 hours – even less in hot temperatures.
That Tom didn’t wash his hands when his friends did? He had just come from playing baseball too, which
means his hands were not clean to handle food. Also he didn’t wash his hands after handling raw meat. He
could have more harmful bacteria on his hands.
That they chose to eat at a table in the sun? No problem with eating in the sun. But keeping potato salad and
meats out for more than 2 hours in the sun is a problem and can cause food borne illness. Choose a shady spot
to help keep your picnic cool.
That the hamburger was juicy on the inside when they finished playing ball? If the meat is pink on the inside it
usually means that the meat was not cooked to high enough temperature to kill bacteria. The safe internal
temperature is 165 degrees for hamburger.
What do you think might happen to Tom and his friends?
They might get food borne illness and get very ill. They could have diarrhea, headache, nausea, or fever.
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