Slow Cooker Safety

Delicious Slow-cooked Meals Without Worry

As slow cookers increase in popularity, you too may be purchasing a new one or pulling an older model out of storage.  It’s a good move – you can prepare a variety of delicious meals that will cook in your absence, and dozens of cookbooks and websites offer recipes to help you do just that.  But will all of those recipes produce food that is safe for your family to eat?




A slow cooker prepares food safely when it is used correctly.  Slow cooking is, in fact, the second-oldest cooking method in the world.  Stews and porridges have been prepared in pots hung over fires or buried in hot coals for thousands of years.  The modern slow cooker employs the same method of cooking food for a long time at low heat, but the electrical heating element is far safer than an open fire.  It can be left unattended for hours.

The primary safety consideration is avoiding food contamination from bacteria growth.  Bacteria are killed at 165 degrees.  They cannot multiply at temperatures between 40 degrees and 140 degrees Fahrenheit.  Slow cookers heat to about 200 degrees on low and 300 on high, so even if the food is prepared at the low setting, any bacteria present will be destroyed eventually.  Unfortunately, slow cookers take a long time to heat up from room temperature to over 170 degrees.  Food stays in the ‘danger zone’ between 40 and 140 degrees for a long time, and bacteria can flourish and result in contaminated food.  This means that safe food handling is very important in slow cooking.

Before and After Cooking

Keep foods refrigerated until preparation time.  Room temperature food allows bacteria to get a head start before cooking even begins. Refrigerated food is too cold for bacteria growth.