The weather is warming up and a lot of people associate summer time with the barbecue. What people don't know is that it's also the peak season for food-borne illnesses.
Here's how to avoid food poisoning from your grill.
Keep things clean
• Handwashing is the easiest way to prevent the spread of bacteria. Wash your hands with soap and warm water before and after handling food, especially meat products. Also wash when you switch from one food to another
• Keep counter tops and utensils sanitized.
Proper prep work
• Marinate your food in the refrigerator. Do not reuse marinade that contained raw meat.
• Keep raw and cooked foods strictly separate. Don't use a plate that previously held raw meat or seafood for anything else unless it has been thoroughly washed in hot, soapy water. Also use separate BBQ tools when handling raw foods and cooked foods.
• When packing a cooler for a picnic, place your wrapped raw meats at the bottom to keep them from dripping on other foods.
• Wash all raw fruits and vegetables in clean water. In most cases you cannot detect bacteria by the way the food looks, smells or tastes.
• Sanitize counters and work spaces frequently.
Use the food thermometer
Take guess work out of the equation & make sure you kill harmful bacteria by cooking food thoroughly. Health Canada states that the safe temperatures for cooked foods are:
• 71° C (160° F) for ground beef
• 74° C (165° F) for leftover food
• 85° C (185° F) for whole poultry
If you have to check more than once, clean the thermometer before using it again.
Eat cooked food while it's still hot – bacteria can grow when food is allowed to cool down slowly.
Don't leave the leftovers outside
Food shouldn't be left out for more than two hours. On very hot days, 32ยบ C (90°F), food should be refrigerated after one hour.
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