Summer Picnic Foods Can Present Danger to the Elderly

Summer Picnic Foods Can Present Danger to the Elderly


Center for Disease Control (CDC) Recommends Precautions for Seniors on Ready-to-Eat Meats




With the onset of summer, many elderly adults are enjoying the outside and the tradition of cookouts and picnics. For the elderly, however, there are certain risks in consuming certain foods commonly found at outdoor picnics. The CDC advises the elderly that it’s important to know that ready-to-eat hot dogs, lunch meats, and cold cuts may not be safe to eat. These meats and other foods can be contaminated with the bacteria Listeria, which causes listeriosis. Listeriosis is a serious disease that primarily affects older adults, adults with weakened immune systems, pregnant women and newborns. Listeria is unlike many other germs because it can grow even in the cold temperature of the refrigerator.

Symptoms include fever and chills, headache, upset stomach and vomiting. Anyone can get the illness.

In the United States, approximately 1,600 people become seriously ill with listeriosis each year and 260 die from the disease. Healthy children and adults sometimes get infected with listeria, but they rarely become seriously ill.

The following groups have a higher risk of becoming ill with listeriosis

• Older adults
• Persons with weakened immune systems from transplants or certain diseases, therapies, or medications.
• Persons with cancer, diabetes, alcoholism, liver or kidney disease.
• Persons with AIDS: They are almost 300 times more likely to get listeriosis than people with normal immune systems.

Listeria is killed by pasteurization and cooking, but certain ready-to-eat foods, such as hot dogs and deli meats, can be contaminated after factory processing.

CDC recommends the following precautions for individuals in the high risk groups

1. Do not eat hot dogs, luncheon meats, cold cuts, or other deli meats unless they are heated to an internal temperature of 165ºF or until steaming hot.
2. Do not eat refrigerated pâté or meat spreads from a deli or meat counter or from the refrigerated section of a store.
3. Do not eat soft cheese such as feta, queso blanco, queso fresco, brie, Camembert, blue-veined, or panela (queso panela) unless it is labeled as made with pasteurized milk.
4. Do not eat refrigerated smoked seafood, unless it is contained in a cooked dish, such as a casserole, or unless it is a canned or shelf-stable product. Refrigerated smoked seafood, such as salmon, trout, whitefish, cod, tuna, and mackerel, is most often labeled as “nova-style,” “lox,” “kippered,” “smoked,” or “jerky.” Canned and shelf stable tuna, salmon, and other fish products are safe to eat.

The CDC stresses the importance of using precooked or ready-to-eat food as soon as you can. Do not store the product in the refrigerator beyond the use-by date. Follow USDA refrigerator storage time guidelines:

1. Hot Dogs – store opened package no longer than 1 week and unopened package no longer than 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
2. Luncheon and Deli Meat – store factory-sealed, unopened package no longer than 2 weeks. Store opened packages and meat sliced at a local deli no longer than 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Listeriosis is a serious disease that can lead to death, even with prompt treatment. Death caused by listeriosis is particularly likely in older adults, people with weakened immune systems or other medical conditions, and fetuses and newborn babies. Take the necessary precautions to make certain that you and your loved ones do not get infected.