Food Safety While Hiking, Camping & Boating

Food Safety Facts Food Safety Information

USDA Photo

United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline

1-888-MPHotline

(1-888-674-6854)

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is the public health agency 

in the U.S. Department of Agriculture responsible for ensuring that the nation’s commercial supply of meat, poultry, and egg products is safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled and packaged.

Outdoor activities are popular with Americans nationwide. The fresh air and exercise revives the spirit and the mind. Hiking, camping, and boating are good activities for active people and families, and in some parts of 

the country you can enjoy the outdoors for 2 or 3 seasons. In many cases, these activities last all day and involve 

preparing at least one meal. If the food is not handled correctly, foodborne illness can be an unwelcome souvenir.

Food Safety While Hiking & Camping

Sometimes you just have to get out and walk around 

in the solitude and beauty of our country. You may 

want to hike for just a few hours, or you may want to 

camp for a few days. One meal and some snacks are 

all that’s needed for a short hike. Planning meals for a 

longer hike or camping trip requires more thought. You 

have to choose foods that are light enough to carry in a 

backpack and that can be transported safely.

"Keep Hot Foods Hot & Cold Foods Cold"

Whether you are in your kitchen or enjoying the great 

outdoors, there are food safety principles that never 

change. 

Hot or Cold?

The first principle is to keep foods either hot or cold. 

Since it is difficult to keep foods hot without a heat 

source (although the new insulated casserole dishes 

will keep things hot for an hour or so), it is best to 

transport chilled foods. Refrigerate or freeze the food 

overnight. For a cold source, bring frozen gel-packs or 

freeze some box drinks. The drinks will thaw as you 

hike and keep your meal cold at the same time. What 

foods to bring? For a day hike, just about anything will 

do as long as you can fit it in your backpack and keep 

it cold — sandwiches, fried chicken, bread and cheese, 

and even salads — or choose non-perishable foods.

Most bacteria do not grow rapidly at temperatures 

below 40 °F or above 140 °F. The temperature range in 

between is known as the "Danger Zone." Bacteria multiply rapidly at these temperatures and can reach dangerous levels after 2 hours (1 hour if 90 °F or above). 

"Keep Everything Clean"

The second principle is to keep everything clean. Bacteria 

present on raw meat and poultry products can be easily 

spread to other foods by juices dripping from packages, 

hands, or utensils. This is called cross-contamination. When 

transporting raw meat or poultry, double wrap or place the 

packages in plastic bags to prevent juices from the raw 

product from dripping on other foods. Always wash your 

hands before and after handling food, and don’t use the 

same platter and utensils for raw and cooked meat and poultry. Soap and water are essential to cleanliness, so if you are 

going somewhere that will not have running water, bring it 

with you. Even disposable wipes will do. 

Safe Drinking Water

It is not a good idea to depend on fresh water from a lake or 

stream for drinking, no matter how clean it appears. Some 

pathogens thrive in remote mountain lakes or streams and 

there is no way to know what might have died and fallen into 

the water upstream. Bring bottled or tap water for drinking. 

Always start out with a full water bottle, and replenish your 

supply from tested public systems when possible. On long 

trips you can find water in streams, lakes, and springs, but 

be sure to purify any water from the wild, no matter how 

clean it appears.

The surest way to make water safe is to boil it. Boiling will 

kill microorganisms. First, bring water to a rolling boil, and 

then continue boiling for 1 minute. Before heating, muddy 

water should be allowed to stand for a while to allow the silt 

to settle to the bottom. Dip the clear water off the top and 

boil. At higher elevations, where the boiling point of water is 

lower, boil for several minutes.
Food Safety while Hiking, Camping & Boating

Food Safety Information 2

As an alternative to boiling water, you can also use 

water purification tablets and water filters. The purification tablets — which contain iodine, halazone, or 

chlorine — kill most waterborne bacteria, viruses, and 

some (but not all) parasites. Because some parasites — 

such as Cryptosporidium parvum, Giardia lamblia, and 

larger bacteria — are not killed by purification tablets, 

you must also use a water filter. These water filtering 

devices must be 1 micron absolute or smaller. Over 

time purification tablets lose their potency, so keep 

your supply fresh. Water sanitizing tablets for washing 

dishes can also be purchased (just don’t confuse the 

two). Water purification tablets, filters, and sanitizing 

tablets can be purchased at camping supply stores.

What Foods to Bring?

If you are backpacking for more than a day, the food 

situation gets a little more complicated. You can still 

bring cold foods for the first day, but you’ll have to pack 

shelf-stable items for the next day. Canned goods are 

safe, but heavy, so plan your menu carefully. Advances 

in food technology have produced relatively lightweight 

staples that don’t need refrigeration or careful 

packaging. For example: 

•	 peanut butter in plastic jars; 

•	 concentrated juice boxes; 

•	 canned tuna, ham, chicken, and beef;. 

•	 dried noodles and soups; 

•	 beef jerky and other dried meats; 

•	 dehydrated foods; 

•	 dried fruits and nuts; and 

•	 powdered milk and fruit drinks. 

Powdered mixes for biscuits or pancakes are easy to 

carry and prepare, as is dried pasta. There are plenty of 

powdered sauce mixes that can be used over pasta, but 

check the required ingredient list. Carry items like dried 

pasta, rice, and baking mixes in plastic bags and take 

only the amount you’ll need. 

Cooking at the Campsite

After you have decided on a menu, you need to plan 

how you will prepare the food. You’ll want to take as 

few pots as possible (they’re heavy!). Camping supply 

stores sell lightweight cooking gear that nest together, 

but you can also use aluminum foil wrap and pans for 

cooking.

You’ll need to decide in advance how you will cook. 

Will you bring along a portable stove, or will you build 

a campfire? Many camping areas prohibit campfires, 

so check first or assume you will have to take a stove. 

Make sure to bring any equipment you will need. If you 

are bringing a camp stove, practice putting it together 

and lighting it before you pack. If you build a campfire, 

carefully extinguish the fire and dispose of the ashes 

before breaking camp. Likewise, leftover food should be 

burned, not dumped. Lastly, be sure to pack garbage 

bags to dispose of any other trash, and carry it out with 

you.

Use a Food Thermometer

Another important piece of camping equipment is a 

food thermometer. If you are cooking meat or poultry 

on a portable stove or over a fire, you’ll need a way to 

determine when it is done and safe to eat. Color is not 

a reliable indicator of doneness, and it can be especially 

tricky to tell the color of a food if you are cooking in a 

wooded area in the evening.

When cooking hamburger patties on a grill or portable stove, use a digital thermometer to measure the 

temperature. Digital thermometers register the temperature in the very tip of the probe, so the safety of 

thin foods — such as hamburger patties and boneless 

chicken breasts — as well as thicker foods can be determined. A dial thermometer determines the temperature 

of a food by averaging the temperature along the stem 

and, therefore, should be inserted 2 to 2 1⁄2 inches into 

the food. If the food is thin, the probe must be inserted 

sideways into the food.

It is critical to use a food thermometer when cooking 

hamburgers. Ground beef may be contaminated with E. 

coli O157:H7, a particularly dangerous strain of bacteria. Illnesses have occurred even when ground beef 

patties were cooked until there was no visible pink. The 

only way to insure that ground beef patties are safely 

cooked is to use a food thermometer, and cook the 

patty until it reaches 160 °F. 

• Cook all raw beef, pork, lamb and veal steaks, 

chops, and roasts to a minimum internal temperature of 145 °F as measured with a food thermometer before removing meat from the heat source. 

For safety and quality, allow meat to rest for at 

least three minutes before carving or consuming. 

For reasons of personal preference, consumers may 

choose to cook meat to higher temperatures. 

• Cook all raw ground beef, pork, lamb, and veal to 

an internal temperature of 160 °F as measured with 

a food thermometer.

• Cook all poultry to a safe minumum internal temperature of 165 °F as measured with a food thermometer.

Heat hot dogs to steaming hot, and reheat any leftover 

food to 165 °F as measured with a food thermometer. 

Be sure to clean the thermometer between uses.
Food Safety while Hiking, Camping & Boating

Food Safety Information 3

Keeping Cold

If you are “car camping” (driving to your site), you don’t 

have quite as many restrictions. First, you will have the 

luxury of bringing a cooler. What kind of cooler? Foam 

chests are lightweight, low cost, and have good “cold 

retention” power. But they are fragile and may not last 

through numerous outings. Plastic, fiberglass, or steel 

coolers are more durable and can take a lot of outdoor 

wear. They also have excellent “cold retention” power, 

but, once filled, larger models may weigh 30 or 40 

pounds.

To keep foods cold, you’ll need a cold source. A block of 

ice keeps longer than ice cubes. Before leaving home, 

freeze clean, empty milk cartons filled with water to 

make blocks of ice, or use frozen gel-packs. Fill the 

cooler with cold or frozen foods. Pack foods in reverse 

order. First foods packed should be the last foods used. 

(There is one exception: pack raw meat or poultry below ready-to-eat foods to prevent raw meat or poultry 

juices from dripping on the other foods.) Take foods 

in the smallest quantity needed (e.g., a small jar of 

mayonnaise). At the campsite, insulate the cooler with a 

blanket, tarp, or poncho. When the camping trip is over, 

discard all perishable foods if there is no longer ice in 

the cooler or if the gel-pack is no longer frozen.

Cleanup

Whether taking a hike or camping at an established 

site, if you will be washing dishes or cookware, there 

are some rules to follow. Camping supply stores sell 

biodegradable camping soap in liquid and solid forms. 

But use it sparingly, and keep it out of rivers, lakes, 

streams, and springs, as it will pollute. If you use soap 

to clean your pots, wash the pots at the campsite, not 

at the water’s edge. Dump dirty water on dry ground, 

well away from fresh water. Some wilderness campers 

use baking soda to wash their utensils. Pack disposable 

wipes for hands and quick cleanups.

Food Safety While Boating

Keeping food safe for a day on the boat may not be 

quite as challenging as for a hike, but when you are out 

on the water, the direct sunlight can be an even bigger 

food safety problem. Remember the “Danger Zone”? 

It is true that bacteria multiply rapidly at warm temperatures, and food can become unsafe if held in the 

“Danger Zone” for over 2 hours. Above 90 °F, food can 

become dangerous after only 1 hour. In direct sunlight, 

temperatures can climb even higher than that. So bring 

along plenty of ice, and keep the cooler shaded or covered with a blanket.

Keep Your Cooler Cool

A cooler for perishable food is essential. It is important to keep it closed, out of the sun, and covered, if 

possible, for further insulation. Better yet, bring two 

coolers: one for drinks and snacks, and another for 

more perishable food. The drink cooler will be opened 

and closed a lot, which lets hot air in and causes the 

ice to melt faster. Pack your coolers with several inches 

of ice, blocks of ice, or frozen gel-packs. Store food in 

watertight containers to prevent contact with melting 

ice water. 

Keep Cold Foods Cold

Perishable foods, like luncheon meats, cooked chicken 

(Yes, that includes fried chicken!), and potato or pasta 

salads, should be kept in the cooler. Remember the 

rule: keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold? And the 

2-hour rule: no food should remain in the “Danger 

Zone” for more than 2 hours? Unless you plan to eat 

that bucket of fried chicken within 2 hours of purchase, 

it needs to be kept in the cooler. For optimum safety, 

consider buying it the night before, refrigerating it in a 

shallow container (not the bucket), and then packing it 

cold in the cooler. 

Of course, some foods don’t need to be stored in the 

cooler: whole fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, trail 

mix, canned meat spreads, and peanut butter and jelly. 

(However, once canned foods are opened, put them in 

the cooler.)

If you don’t have an insulated cooler, try freezing sandwiches for your outing. Use coarse-textured breads that 

don’t get soggy when thawed. Take the mayonnaise, 

lettuce, and tomato with you to add at mealtime. In a 

pinch, a heavy cardboard box lined with plastic bags 

and packed with frozen gel packs or ice will keep things 

cold until lunchtime. Freeze water in milk cartons or 

plastic bottles for your cold source.
Food Safety Questions?

Food Safety while Hiking, Camping & Boating

The USDA is an equal opportunity

 provider and employer.

Revised May 2011

FSIS encourages the reprint and distribution of this publication for food safety 

education purposes. However, USDA symbols or logos may not be used separately to 

imply endorsement of a commercial product or service. 

Call the USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline

Send E-mail questions to MPHotline.fsis@usda.gov.

Seafood

If you are planning to fish, check with your fish and 

game agency or state health department to see where 

you can fish safely, then follow these guidelines.

Finfish: 

•	 Scale, gut, and clean fish as soon as they’re 

caught. 

•	 Live fish can be kept on stringers or in live 

wells, as long as they have enough water and 

enough room to move and breathe. 

•	 Wrap fish, both whole and cleaned, in watertight plastic and store on ice. 

•	 Keep 3 to 4 inches of ice on the bottom of the 

cooler. Alternate layers of fish and ice. 

•	 Store the cooler out of the sun and cover with a 

blanket. 

•	 Once home, eat fresh fish within 1 to 2 days 

or freeze them. For top quality, use frozen fish 

within 3 to 6 months. 

Shellfish:

•	 Crabs, lobsters, and other shellfish must be 

kept alive until cooked. 

•	 Store in live wells or out of water in a bushel or 

laundry basket under wet burlap or seaweed. 

•	 Crabs and lobsters are best eaten the day 

they’re caught. 

•	 Live oysters should be cooked within 7 to 10 

days. 

•	 Live mussels and clams should be cooked 

within 4 to 5 days. 

•	 Eating raw shellfish is extremely dangerous. 

People with liver disorders or weakened 

immune systems are especially at risk. 

Cleanup

Cleanup on the boat is similar to cleanup in the wild. 

Bring disposable wipes for handwashing, and bag up all 

your trash to dispose of when you return to shore.

General Rules for Outdoor Food Safety

Plan ahead: decide what you are going to eat and how 

you are going to cook it; then plan what equipment you 

will need. 

•	 Pack safely: use a cooler if car-camping or 

boating, or pack foods in the frozen state with a 

cold source if hiking or backpacking.

•	 Keep raw foods separate from other foods. 

•	 Never bring meat or poultry products without a 

cold source to keep them safe. 

•	 Bring disposable wipes or biodegradable soap 

for hand- and dishwashing. 

•	 Plan on carrying bottled water for drinking. 

Otherwise, boil water or use water purification 

tablets. 

•	 Do not leave trash in the wild or throw it off 

your boat. 

•	 If using a cooler, leftover food is safe only if 

the cooler still has ice in it. Otherwise, discard 

leftover food. 

•	 Whether in the wild or on the high seas, protect 

yourself and your family by washing your hands 

before and after handling food.

If you have a question about 

meat, poultry or egg products, call the USDA Meat 

and Poultry 

Hotline toll free at 

1-888-MPHotline

or 1-888-674-6854.

The hotline is open 

year-round Monday 

through Friday

 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. EST 

(English or Spanish). 

Listen to timely

 recorded food safety 

messages at the

 same number 

24 hours a day. 

Check out the 

FSIS Web site at 

www.fsis.usda.gov

Ask Karen!

FSIS’ automated response 

system can provide food safety 

information 

24/7 and a

live chat 

during 

Hotline 

hours.

AskKaren.gov

PregunteleaKaren.gov