Keeping yourself healthy & your wallet happy ahead of Super Bowl Sunday

CHARLOTTE, NC – Football, friends, and food. That’s what Super Bowl watch parties are all about – and grocery store owners like Billy Tran are prepping for one of their busiest weekends of the year.

“We’ve got plenty to stock up,” says Tran, “We’ll make sure everybody has some.”

Tran, who co-owns the Giant Penny on The Plaza, is doing his best to tackle higher prices. But some things, like the bird flu outbreak, are out of his control.

“You look at it right now, the egg prices have gone up like crazy,” Tran laments.

And looming tariffs – up to 25% on imports from Mexico and Canada – aren’t helping his anxiety.

“We want to see what’s going on before we make any decision, but as far as I know eventually they’re going to go up at some point,” says Tran.

Avocados will be a big-ticket item to watch – over 90% of those eaten in the U.S. come from Mexico. Should the tariffs be enacted, expect to pay more for your guacamole.

“Everything is rising,” says Plaza resident Mya Jackson, “Everything. Life is rising.”

Jackson says something’s got to give.

“I’m going to just get me a garden and I’m just going to grow my own food,” Jackson laughs, “Because at this point, that’s what we all need to do.”

So your wallet may take a hit this year – but it doesn’t mean your stomach has to.

“The general rule of thumb that we like to give people is that food should be left out of temperature control for no more than two hours,” says Dr. Don Schaffner with Rutgers University.

Schaffner says food-borne illnesses will grab you by the face mask if you aren’t careful.

“Keep the cold foods cold and keep the hot foods hot,” Schaffner explains, “So, if you’ve got chicken wings and you can put them on some sort of a Sterno can or something to keep them hot, then you can leave them out for longer.”

Schaffner also tells WCCB Charlotte that microwaving your food isn’t a fix-all for items that have been left out for too long. While reheating your food may eliminate microbes in your leftovers, the toxic waste left behind is often heat-resistant and can still make you very ill.