Safefood ambassador Nico Reynolds is offering practical tips on how to safely enjoy a barbecue over the bank holiday weekend.
With the sun here to stay for the long weekend, Nico advises using a meat thermometer to ensure that barbecue meats like burgers, chicken and sausages are cooked to 75°C for the safest and tastiest food. Nico, together with Safefood, has put together a list of top tips for a safe and tasty barbecue this weekend.
Keep perishable foods such as salads, coleslaw and quiche in your fridge until you are ready to serve them.
Burgers, sausages and kebabs, pork and poultry must be cooked all the way through – take your food off the heat, pop the thermometer in the thickest part of the meat and when it reaches 75°C, then it’s cooked and ready to eat. Steaks can be served 'rare' as harmful bacteria are on the outside only (and not in the centre ).
If you like to marinate your meat, make sure any marinade used on raw meat is not then used as a sauce to coat vegetables or cooked meat as it will contain raw meat bacteria.
If you choose to barbecue any frozen food, it must be firstly completely thawed on the bottom shelf of your fridge before you cook it.
When handling raw meat and poultry, wash your hands thoroughly and frequently, most importantly before going on to prepare salads and other ready to eat foods.
Once your meat is cooked thoroughly, make sure to keep cooked meat separate from raw meat and to use separate chopping boards, cooking utensils and plates. Harmful bacteria in raw meat, poultry and their juices can cross contaminate cooked food and lead to food poisoning, something your family won’t thank you for.
If there are leftovers from your barbecue, allow the food to cool before refrigerating, however make sure to refrigerate food within two hours of cooking. Always remember with leftovers — if in doubt, throw it out.
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