How to Use This Toolkit

This toolkit is designed to help you get started with your local Super Bowl food safety campaign. In this toolkit you will find the materials you can use to promote safe food handling leading up to and during the big game on February 12, 2023.   

We have organized this material to help make your outreach informative, helpful and fun. Resources include:

• Talking Points
• Social Media
• Infographics

To encourage co-branding, you may add your organization’s name to outreach materials and media resources. We have talking points for interviews or speeches. A gallery of photographs and infographics are available to use free through the FSIS Flickr site.

Overview

The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is the public health regulatory agency in USDA responsible for ensuring that domestic and imported meat, poultry and egg products are safe, wholesome and properly labeled.

Foodborne illness is a serious public health threat. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that foodborne illness results in roughly 48 million people getting sick, 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths in the U.S. annually.

FSIS works hard to make sure the meat, poultry and egg products consumers bring home are safe, but consumers also play a role in preventing foodborne illnesses — commonly known as food poisoning. This year, FSIS is sharing Super Bowl-themed tips centered on takeout and delivered foods served at lengthier gatherings, as well as the four steps to food safety — clean, separate, cook and chill.

Talking Points

Super Bowl LVII (57) will be held on February 12, 2023, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Super Bowl Sunday is the second-largest food consumption day after Thanksgiving. Last year’s Super Bowl drew an audience of 99 million U.S. viewers. Approximately 48 million Americans will order takeout or have food delivered on game day.

Whether you are a seasoned cook or choosing the convenience of takeout, here are tips to follow:

Remember Your Four Steps to Food Safety

• Clean: Wash hands for 20 seconds and clean surfaces and utensils with soap and warm water before cooking and after contact with raw meat and poultry. After cleaning surfaces that raw meat or poultry has touched, apply a commercial or homemade sanitizing solution (1 tablespoon of liquid chlorine bleach per gallon of water). Use hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol.
• Separate: Use separate cutting boards, plates and utensils to avoid cross-contamination between raw meat or poultry and foods that are ready-to-eat.
• Cook: Confirm foods are cooked to a safe internal temperature by using a food thermometer.
• Chill: Chill foods promptly if not consuming immediately after cooking. Do not leave food at room temperature for longer than two hours.

Avoid the Danger Zone

• Bacteria multiply rapidly between 40 F and 140 F. This temperature range is called the Danger Zone.
• Food should not be left in the Danger Zone for more than two hours (called the 2-hour rule). After two hours, bacteria can reach dangerous levels that can cause foodborne illness.
  • Perishable foods, such as chicken wings, deli wraps or meatball appetizers, should be discarded if left out for longer than two hours. To prevent food waste, refrigerate or freeze perishable items within two hours, or keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold.
• Foods can be held at temperatures outside of the Danger Zone and stay safe for longer periods of time.
  • Keep cold foods at a temperature of 40 F or below by keeping food nestled in ice or refrigerated until ready to serve.
  • Keep hot foods at a temperature of 140 F or above by placing food in a preheated oven, warming trays, chafing dishes or slow cookers.

Ordering Takeout or Delivery

• If you order food and it is delivered or picked up in advance of the big game, divide the food into smaller portions or pieces, place in shallow containers and refrigerate until ready to reheat and serve. You can also keep the food warm (above 140 F) in a preheated oven, warming tray, chafing dish or slow cooker.
• Arrange for delivery when someone is at home so perishable foods such as meat, chicken and other poultry, seafood, eggs or dairy can be quickly stored in the refrigerator or freezer instead of being left outside until someone is home.

Reheating Foods

• When reheating leftovers, make sure the internal temperature reaches 165 F as measured by a food thermometer.
• If heating food in the microwave, ensure that contents are evenly dispersed. Because microwaved food can have cold spots, be sure to stir food evenly until it has reached a safe internal temperature throughout.

Store Leftovers Safely

• Divide leftovers into smaller portions and refrigerate or freeze them in shallow containers, which helps leftovers cool quicker than storing them in large containers.
• Place leftovers into airtight containers to help keep bacteria out and retain moisture.
• Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days or frozen for 3 to 4 months. Although safe indefinitely, frozen leftovers can lose moisture and flavor when stored for longer times in the freezer.

Social Media

Share Super Bowl food safety guidance with your followers and be sure to use the hashtag: #FoodSafe. Follow us on Twitter for our Super Bowl food safety Tweets and Retweet us! Don’t forget to tag us in your tweets (@USDAFoodSafety).

Infographics

Super Bowl Four Steps (English)

Super Bowl Four Steps Infographic (English)

Super Bowl Four Steps Infographic (Spanish)

Super Bowl Playbook (English)

Cooking for Groups (English)

Cooking for Groups (Spanish)

Is It Done Yet? (English)

Is It Done Yet? (Spanish)