Fwd: Keep Your Campfire & Food Safe This Summer!
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Don Antenucci
Jul 10, 2025, 9:22:24 PMJul 10
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From: Scouting America <boyscouts...@email.scouting.org>
Date: July 10, 2025 at 3:29:35 PM EDT
To: dante...@aol.com
Subject: Keep Your Campfire & Food Safe This Summer!
Reply-To: Scouting America <email...@scouting.org>
Keep Your Campfire & Food Safe This Summer!
Summer is the perfect time to enjoy the great outdoors—whether it’s camping, picnics, or backyard cookouts. But warmer temperatures increase the risk of food-borne illnesses, often caused by improper food handling. At the same time, campfires bring warmth and fun but also require careful attention to safety to prevent accidents. To ensure your outdoor adventures are both safe and enjoyable, it’s essential to follow simple, important practices for handling food and managing campfires.
Scouting America’s Keeping Your Food Safe safety moment makes it that much easier to prevent food-borne illness by remembering to:Maintain the Three Cs!Keep it COLD
- Bacteria grow slowly when food is kept below 40°F or above 140°F. The temperature range in between, known as the “danger zone,” is where bacteria multiply rapidly. Keeping food out of this zone is key to safety.
Keep it CLEAN
- Always sanitize your hands with soap and water or disposable wipes before handling food. Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly before cutting them on clean surfaces. Avoid cross-contamination by ensuring raw meat, poultry, or their juices never come into contact with fresh or prepared foods.
COOK it Thoroughly
- Meat can harbor harmful bacteria, so use a digital instant-read thermometer to ensure it’s cooked to the proper internal temperature. Remember to clean the thermometer between uses to avoid cross-contamination. For guidance on safe temperatures, refer to the USDA Grilling Food Safety page
Safe Food Storage
Following Scouting America’s Leave No Trace Seven Principles during camping helps promote respect for nature and safety for all participants.
Principle Six – Respect Wildlife
Store food securely and keep garbage and scraps away from animals to prevent them from developing harmful habits. Never feed wildlife—help keep wildlife wild.
In the backcountry, remember to:Campfire Safety
- Keep food out of your tent
- Never leave food unattended
- Hang food properly to keep it safe from animals
Campfires are central to the outdoor experience, offering a warm place for stories, reflection, and fellowship. But fire can be dangerous, so it’s essential to follow safety practices while cooking and enjoying the campfire.
Smart Campfire Behaviors:Maintaining a Safe Campfire & Campsite:
- Always respect fire—stay outside the fire ring and never touch any part of it once lit.
- Don’t run, jump, or play around the campfire—fires can cause serious injuries.
- Follow the rule: “Once it’s in, it stays in.” Don’t pull anything out of the fire.
Cooking or Roasting Over a Campfire:
- Ensure the campfire is set at a safe distance from seating areas and tents.
- Check local and federal regulations regarding fire bans and policies before lighting a fire.
Aaron on Scouting Resources
- Never swing, flick, or throw hot or burning food. Stay calm if food burns or catches fire.
- Use a long skewer to keep a safe distance from the fire ring or containment area.
- Handle sharp skewers carefully—keep tips pointed safely to avoid injury, especially in the dark. Maintain space around you to keep others safe.
Visit Scouting America’s Safety Moment landing page here!
If you have a safety moment idea for the Scouting Safely website, share your draft with us at Health...@Scouting.org, and we’ll consider it for publication.
Together, let’s grow a strong Culture of Safety in Scouting!
Copyright © 2025 Boy Scouts of America. All rights reserved.
Scouting America
1325 West Walnut Hill Lane
Irving, TX 75038
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