PROTECT YOUR PICNIC FROM PESKY PREDATORS

The battle lines are drawn.

The fringed edges of your plaid picnic blanket mark the outer limit of the "No-Bug's Land" that separates your food from the hungry armies (ants) or errant scouts (daddy longlegs) that prowl the tiny forest surrounding your feast. A well-aimed "swat team" can keep these invaders at bay, although having to defend your meal this way can be tedious. Some of us are resourceful enough to establish battlements atop picnic tables, out of reach of the more pedestrian predators of picnic provisions.

But beware. Don't forget two threats that can not only pillage your picnic, but keep you in misery for hours or days after your food is eaten and the picnic basket is put away.

Yellow jackets -- the airborne division of a search-and-devour mission -- are meat-eating wasps with a sweet tooth who zero in on your hot dogs and frosty sweet sodas. Woe to those defenders who get in their way, for these venomous attackers can sting again and again! Then there are microscopic pathogens -- the insidious, Trojan Horse invaders -- who not only spoil your picnic food, but can undermine your health as well.

Two specialists in the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service at N.C. State University offer tips on how to avoid or minimize the damage that these marauders can wreak on your summer picnics or cookouts.

Yellow Jackets

"Many people who get stung at picnics often blame honey bees, but the usual culprit is the yellow jacket," says Dr. John Ambrose, a bee expert at N. C. State. "Public picnic areas and campgrounds pose the greatest hazard because these insects are conditioned to expect a food source, such as soda cans or food leftovers in trash receptacles there. Try to eat your meal as far away from trash cans as possible, and keep food items tightly covered. Consume beverages from clear plastic or glass containers so that you can see if insects are using your drink as a swimming pool before you bring the cup to your lips."

Picnics in your own back yard allow more control over the yellow jacket situation than in public places, says Ambrose. Try to vary the times and days of your picnics so that "the enemy" can't anticipate your movements. A bug "bomb" set off in your yard about half an hour before the meal will do much to discourage a yellow jacket mission. Be sure to dispose of trash items in cans with tightly-fitting lids, don't leave uncovered food out in the open and use clear drinking cups. If, despite all precautions, you are stung anyway, apply ice to the wound and seek immediate medical intervention if you experience a rash or difficulty breathing after you are stung by any insect, yellow jacket or not.

Food-Borne Illnesses

Illness-causing germs can invade your food without a single telltale scent or discoloration to reveal their presence. These invaders, like most germs, love temperate comfort zones -- temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Germs occur naturally in most foods. If perishable foods are left too long at these temperatures -- an hour or more -- these germs can begin to grow. If they grow too much and too quickly, they can cause illness. There are simple steps you can take to keep your picnic safe and pleasant.

"The simplest rule to remember in preparing food is, keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold,'" says Dr. Angela Fraser, a food safety specialist at N.C. State. "Keep foods at 140 degrees Fahrenheit or hotter, or at 40 degrees or colder. If you don't have a food thermometer, the rule of thumb is; hot foods should be steaming and cold foods should feel as if they were just taken out of the refrigerator."

Fraser suggests keeping foods separate when preparing them, to prevent cross-contamination of germs from one food to another. Use hot, soapy water when cleaning kitchen utensils and cutting boards, and follow up by soaking these items in water to which chlorine bleach has been added, one tablespoon bleach to a gallon of water. Remember to wash your hands thoroughly between each step of preparation; if you can't get to a hot water spigot at your picnic site, use moist towelettes.

Fraser says that it isn't being too cautious to regard every piece of uncooked meat, fish or poultry as being potentially contaminated. Cook all meats and poultry until done (juices should run clear); fish should flake easily. Do not allow juices from uncooked meats to come into contact with utensils used for cooked food. Do not save leftover marinade used for meat, poultry or fish. When basting with marinade, allow the heat from the grill, stove or oven to "sterilize" the marinade-soaked meat a few moments before removing the meat from the heat and serving.

Now that you've secured your picnic from pillagers, relax and enjoy the "spoils" -- or rather, "non-spoils" -- of culinary conquest!