Food Safety Tips for having a BBQ

When asking friends around for a barbecue, you don’t want the FBI (foodborne illness) to crash the party. Cooking outdoors in warm spring and summer temperatures provides the ideal situation for pathogens to multiply and cause foodborne illness. Outdoor chefs need to take special care when preparing, cooking and storing food for a barbecue.

Before firing up the barbie, make sure all cooking paraphernalia and the surfaces food will be put on are spotlessly cleaned with soap and hot water and then thoroughly dried. Have one set of utensils for raw meat and poultry, and another set for cooked foods. Using just one set almost guarantees that you’ll transfer pathogens from raw meat to cooked foods.

Make sure meat, poultry and other perishable foods are stored cold until they are ready for cooking. Once cooked, it is important to put food on a clean plate – not the one the raw meat was stored on.

It is recommended that chicken, meat patties and sausages are precooked before going on the barbecue to ensure they are thoroughly cooked by the time they turn brown and crisp. Cooking on a barbecue is not as accurate or consistent as using a kitchen cooker, so when cooking outdoors you should use a meat thermometer. If you don’t have one – and you should – keep an eye on the meat to ensure the juices run clear and it is steaming hot right though (although this is still no guarantee of safety).

Summer and picnics go hand in hand. Following a few simple guidelines will make your outdoor meal a pleasurable experience. Transporting your food in cooled chilly bags or bins and keeping it cold until it’s time to eat will slow the growth of pathogens. Also keep food covered as much as possible to keep unwanted insects and bugs out.