Tips for Preparing Food Safely in a Slow Cooker

Slow cookers are once again a popular convenience appliance. The models currently available are efficient, time-saving appliances. However, what about those crock pots that have been pushed to the back of the cupboard for the last twenty years? Are they safe? To qualify as a safe slow cooker, the appliance must be able to cook slow enough for unattended cooking, yet fast enough to keep food above the danger zone.

To determine if a slow cooker will heat to a safe temperature, try this test.

1. Fill cooker with 8 cups (2L) water.
2. Cover, and heat on low for 8 hours or desired cooking time.
3. Check the water temperature with an accurate thermometer (quickly because the temperature drops 10 to 15 degrees when the lid is removed).
4. The temperature of the water should be 185°F (85°C). Temperatures above this would indicate that a product cooked for 8 hours without stirring would be over-done. Temperatures below this may indicate the cooker does not heat food high enough or fast enough to avoid potential food safety problems.

• Start with fresh or thawed meat - not frozen. Do not use a slow cooker to thaw meat.
• Do not use the slow cooker for large roasts or whole chickens.
• Fill a slow cooker no less than half full and more more than two-thirds full. Place slower to cook vegetables at the bottom and around the sides of the pot. Then add meat, cover all the food with liquid such as sauce, broth or water and cover.
• If your slow cooker and your schedule permits, cook meat at HIGH for one hour, then reduce to LOW for the remaining cooking time.
• Check internal temperature to make sure food reaches 160 degrees F.
• Do not delay starting time.
• Only remove the lid to stir or check for doneness.
• Do not reheat foods in slow cooker.
• If you’re away from home during the cooking process and the power goes out, throw away the food even if it appears to be done. If you’re home, finish cooking immediately by some other means. If the cooking was completed before the power went off, the food will be safe for as long as two hours in the cooker.

• Slow Cooker Safety (USDA)