Cooking Safety for the Super Bowl

Super Bowl Sunday is the second biggest day of the entire year for food consumption in the United States. That means a lot of time spent planning and preparing game day snacks!

Before you kick off your menu, be sure to check out these shareable Super Bowl Safety Tips from the US Fire Administration (USFA) for safe cooking during the Super Bowl and year-round!

1. Kitchen Huddle
Prepare your cooking area. Use back burners or turn pot handles toward the back of the stove. Move things that can burn away from the stove. Keep a timer handy and use it when you’re roasting or baking.

2. Penalty Flag
Frying poses the greatest risk of fire. Keep an eye on what you fry. Start with a small amount of oil and heat it slowly. If you see smoke, or if the grease starts to boil in your pan, turn the burner off. Even a small amount of oil on a hot burner can start a fire.

3. Defense
Stay awake and alert while you’re cooking. Stand by your pan. If you leave the kitchen, turn the burner off. Keep a large pan lid or baking sheet nearby in case you need to smother a pan fire.

4. Illegal Contact
Prevent burns when you’re cooking. Wear short sleeves, or roll them up. Don’t lean over the burner. Use potholders and oven mitts to handle hot or steaming cookware.

5. Defensive Linemen
Keep children at least three feet from anything that can get hot, including the stove. Place hot objects and liquids beyond a child’s reach so they can’t touch or pull them down. Never hold a child while you are cooking.

6. Touchdown!
Consider using flameless candles that are battery powered, instead of wax candles. If you’re planning on using food warmers and slow cookers, provide hot pads to prevent burns.

7. Light the food warmer fuel-can after it is placed under the warmer. Keep anything that can burn away from the flame. If you have young children, store matches and lighters up high, out of reach of children, and locked away.

8. Always keep a kitchen first aid kit handy!

courtesy of US Fire Administration (USFA)