With Christmas a little over a week away， you may be looking to make your holiday shopping a little easier by ordering and sending some of your friends and family gift boxes of cheese， meats or delicious If you are planning to send or receive perishable foods by mail that will decay rapidly if not refrigerated， follow these tips to keep them Meat， poultry， fish and other perishable foods need to be handled carefully and in a timely manner in order to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria， which could cause food-borne These items， whether store bought or homemade， need to be handled Perishable food gifts must arrive cold to be safe to If you receive a gift that is not cold at the time of delivery， do not eat it! Instead， notify the It is better to be safe than Food gifts marked “Perishable” or “Keep Refrigerated” need to be opened immediately and placed in the refrigerator or If you are ordering food gifts， specify overnight delivery and request a frozen gel pack or dry ice in the Transit time and product packaging — foam or heavy cardboard designed to keep them cold — are also Food prepared at home may also be shipped to friends and family， but care is First， be sure to follow proper food safety procedures， such as hand washing and prevention of cross contamination when preparing Once you are ready to ship the foods， make sure items are frozen solid or refrigerator cold before Pack in an insulated cooler or heavy cardboard box with a frozen gel You may also use dry ice， but don’t let it touch your hands or the Let the recipient know the box contains dry Wrap the box in two layers of brown paper and mark it “Perishable — Keep R”Ship perishable food gifts by overnight mail and try not to send packages at the end of the week， as delivery could be delayed over the Let the recipient know a food-bearing package is on its way， so someone can be home to accept delivery and get the food under refrigeration It is best to send food gifts to someone’s home instead of their Food can be accidentally left at the office or in the trunk of a Confirm that someone will be home and send your surprise to their
