Things you should never put in a cooler on a road trip mostly come down to one rule: nothing warm, nothing leaking, and nothing raw where it can drip. USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service says to keep cooler food at 40°F or below. A few packing habits make that hard to do.
Here is what USDA and Extension programs say to keep out of the food cooler, or to pack differently, plus a short quality tip from a cooking site, labeled separately.
The short answer: do not pack unsealed raw meat, warm food or leaky containers. Pack cold food straight from the refrigerator or freezer in sealed, watertight containers, keep raw meat wrapped at the bottom or in a separate cooler, use plenty of ice or frozen gel packs, and add a thermometer. A separate drinks cooler helps keep the food cooler closed. Keep perishables at 40°F or below, and throw out food left out more than 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F).
Key takeaways
Wrap or seal raw meat, poultry and seafood and pack it at the bottom, or use a separate cooler, per USDA and Extension.
Pack perishable food straight from the refrigerator or freezer. Do not load warm food in with the cold; West Virginia Extension says hot food is hard to keep at safe temperatures.
Keep drinks in their own cooler when you can, because opening the food cooler all day warms the perishables.
Throw out perishables that sat out more than 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F). Clemson says to pitch anything that warms above 40°F, and when you cannot tell how long, throw it out.
Things you should never put in a road trip cooler at a glance
Do not pack
Do this instead
Unsealed raw meat, poultry or seafood
Seal or double-wrap it and pack it at the bottom, or use a separate cooler
Warm food in a cold cooler
Pack food straight from the refrigerator or freezer; cook on site when you can
Drinks in the food cooler
Use a separate cooler for drinks when you can
Open or leaky containers
Use sealed, watertight containers so meltwater cannot reach the food
Food that has warmed or sat out
Throw out perishables left out past the time limit, or any that Clemson would pitch above 40°F
Food for later buried under today’s snacks
On longer trips, use a second cooler for food you will need later
Seven things to keep out of your cooler, or pack differently
1Unsealed raw meat, poultry or seafood
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service says to store raw meat, poultry and seafood in a separate cooler, or wrap it securely at the bottom, instead of loose with other food. West Virginia University Extension (reviewed May 2022) says to double-wrap raw meat or poultry or seal it in plastic bags, and to “always pack raw meat at the bottom of your cooler.” Mississippi State University Extension says to seal raw meat and seafood in sealed containers or zip-top bags. Clemson Extension says raw meat can go in frozen.
2Warm food in a cooler meant for cold food
USDA says to pack perishable food straight from the refrigerator or freezer. West Vi
