NHS Choices guide to barbecue safety
Barbecues are a great part of summer, but do it safely in order to avoid cases of food poisoning or fire related injury. This simple guide will help...
Handling raw meat
Germs from raw meat can move easily onto your hands, and then onto anything else you touch, including food that's cooked and ready to eat. This is called cross-contamination.
Cross-contamination can happen if raw meat touches anything that then comes into contact with other food. This includes plates, cutlery, tongs and chopping boards.
Safety essentials
Some easy steps to help prevent cross-contamination are:
· Use separate utensils (plates, tongs, containers) for cooked and raw meat
· Wash your hands every time you touch raw meat.
· Never put cooked food on a plate or surface that's had raw meat on it.
· Keep raw meat in a sealed container away from foods that are ready to eat, such as salads and buns.
· Any frozen meat should be properly thawed before you cook it
Cooking with charcoal or gas
Make sure your barbecue is steady on a level surface, away from plants and trees.
Using charcoal
The Fire Service advice is to:
· Cover the bottom of your barbecue with coal to a depth of no more than 5cm (2in).
· Use only recognised firelighters or starter fuel, and on cold coals only.
· Never use petrol on a barbecue.
· The coals are hot enough to start cooking when they're glowing red with a powdery grey surface.
Using gas
The Fire Service advice is to:
· Make sure the tap is turned off before changing the gas cylinder.
· Change cylinders outdoors if possible or in a well-ventilated area.
· If you suspect a leak in the cylinder or pipe work, brush soapy water around the joints and watch for bubbles - tighten to fix but don't over-tighten.
· After cooking, turn off the gas cylinder before turning off at the controls to ensure that any gas left in the pipe work is used up.
Safety essentials
The Fire Service advises the following simple rules to avoid fire-related accidents
· Keep children, garden games and pets well away from the cooking area.
· Never leave the barbecue unattended.
· Keep a bucket of water or sand nearby for emergencies.
· Ensure the barbecue is cool before attempting to move it.
· Never put hot ashes straight into a dustbin or wheelie bin - they could melt the plastic and cause a fire.
Cooking meat
It's important when cooking meat to turn it regularly and move it around the barbecue. This helps it to cook evenly. Remember to not to put raw meat next to cooked, or partly-cooked, meat on the barbecue to avoid cross-contamination, which can be a cause of food poisoning.
Safety essentials
There are a few simple things to remember when checking if meat is cooked on your barbecue. These are:
· Meat should be piping hot in the centre.
· There should be no pink meat visible.
· Any juices should be clear.
· Cooking meat.
· Keeping food safe on the grill.
Using utensils
Cross-contamination can happen if raw meat touches an object and then comes into contact with other food. This includes any of the following:
· Plates
· Cutlery
· Tongs and other utensils
· Chopping boards
Safety essentials
To avoid cross contamination, which can lead to food poisoning, it is very important that you use separate utensils for cooked and raw meat.
Serving cooked meat
The following tips apply to all meat including, including burgers, sausages, chicken, lamb, pork and beef. There are a few simple things to remember when checking if meat is cooked before serving.
These are:
· Meat should be piping hot in the centre.
· There should be no pink meat visible.
· Any juices should be clear
Safety essentials
Never put cooked food on a plate or surface that's had raw meat on it.
"Don’t assume that because meat is charred on the outside it will be cooked properly on the inside," says a spokesperson from the Food Standards Agency (FSA). "Cut the meat and ensure none of it is pink inside."
Don’t put sauce or marinade on cooked food if it's already been used with raw meat.
Serving chilled foods
It's important to keep some foods cool to prevent food-poisoning germs multiplying. You should also take care not to leave food out of the fridge for more than a couple of hours, and don’t leave food in the sun.
Safety essentials
Make sure you keep the following foods cool:
· Salads
· Dips
· Milk and cream
· Yoghurt
· Desserts and cream cakes
· Sandwiches.
· Ham and other cooked meats
· Rice salads
When you're eating outdoors you should also remember to keep food covered whenever possible. This is to protect it from insects, birds and pets, which can carry bacteria.
NHS Choice 2008