Barbecue Safety
Your Barbecue Food Safety Checklist
The risk of foodborne illnesses increases during the summer when temperatures are warmer and people are more likely to be cooking outside at picnics, barbeques, and on camping trips. You can minimize your family's risk of food poisoning by following some simple guidelines about food safety.
1. Get off to a CLEAN start!
- Handwashing is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of foodborne illness. Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and warm water before and after handling food. Wash again when you switch from a raw food to a cooked food.
- Make sure that your countertops and utensils clean and sanitized. Sanitizing reduces bacteria and can prevent foodborne illness.
2. CHILL out by the BBQ!
- Keep food cool at or below 4ºC (40ºF). It’s best to keep perishable food in the fridge or cooler until you are ready to cook it or eat it. Bacteria can grow and "spoil" food left in the temperature danger zone (4º to 60ºC/40º to 140ºF) for more than two hours. On a hot summer day, consider decreasing this to one hour or less.
- Keep the cooler cool. Pack the cooler with freezer packs to keep the temperature at or below 4ºC (40ºF). Keep the cooler away from direct sunlight, as this could bring the temperature in the cooler up quickly. When storing food in cooler remember never store raw food with any ready to eat food, such as cans of pop or condiments.
3. COOK safely!
- Have a digital food thermometer handy. Prevent foodborne illness by cooking food to a safe internal temperature. Food safety experts say food thermometers are the only way to cook foods safely without overcooking!
- Keep hot food hot at or above 60ºC (140ºF) to prevent the growth of bacteria and reduce the chance of foodborne illness.
- Cook meat until the juices from the meat are no longer bloody.
4. SEPARATE raw and cooked food!
- Raw food can cross-contaminate cooked food and cause foodborne illness. Keep raw and cooked food separate and covered.
- Have clean plates and cooking utensils ready. Never use the same plate, tray or utensils for raw and cooked food. Raw meat juices can spread bacteria to your safely cooked food and cause foodborne illness!
- Do not rinse off the plate with running water and reuse it for your cooked meat, as there could still be bacteria on the plate which could end up on the food you have cooked.
By preparing and handling your food in a safe manner, you can drastically reduce your risk of contracting a foodborne illness. Remember if in doubt throw it out.