Opening day at the California State Fair means you get your first crack at all that yummy fair food, like barbecue, funnel cake and bacon-wrapped 'everything,' but first order of business as the gates open is to make sure all that food is safe to eat.
Photo by Ryan Harris, KFBK
Those deep fryers run pretty hot, which is good because Kelly McCoy with Sacramento County's Environmental Management Department says there is a temperature danger zone the 165 vendors want to avoid with both hot and cold foods. "Between 41 and 135 (degrees Farenheit), that's where bacteria loves to grow," McCoy said, "So we want to keep cold foods before 41 to make sure the bacteria doesn't grow, hot foods above 135 to make sure we don't have any bacteria."
"Bacon makes almost anything just a little bit better."
The 17 inspectors working around Cal Expo also make sure there is proper hand-washing and that surfaces and utensils are cleaned and sanitized every 4 hours if they are used for meat, every 24 hours for the rest.Photo by Ryan Harris, KFBK
There is a popular theme at one stand. "Bacon makes almost anything just a little bit better," according to Nathan Vandewarker. He added that his stand, "The Bacon Habit," is also serving farm-to-fair food. "We have bacon-wrapped asparagus with a little bit of brown sugar rub on it, bacon-wrapped zucchini and bacon-wrapped Brussels sprouts served with a little Parmesan cheese and some balsamic vinaigrette."
Just remember to bring along plenty of antacid.