It’s summer—a season when outdoor grilling skyrockets in popularity, right along with the number of cases of food-related illnesses.
Food experts say there are five common sense precautions backyard chefs can take to avoid contributing to government statistics that show food illnesses can climb by more than 150 percent during this particular season.
“Preparing food safely begins with four precautionary words…always wash your hands,” says Adam Soreff of UniFirst Corporation, a supplier of protective uniforms to the food processing industry in the U.S. and Canada.
The UniFirst spokesman explains that cooks should always wash their hands thoroughly with warm soapy water after handling raw food and before handling cooked foods. “Cross contamination is a major source for food related illnesses. If running water is not immediately accessible, you can use a waterless cleaner like Purell, which can kill germs and bacteria instantly.”
Besides keeping your hands constantly clean when handling foods, the UniFirst playbook for safe summer grilling calls for following these five basic tips:
Separate, don’t contaminate. Cross-contamination occurs when juices from raw meats come in contact with cooked or ready-to-eat foods. Use separate cutting boards for each.
Use proper cooking temperatures. Meats should be cooked thoroughly. Just because meats are brown doesn’t mean they’re entirely cooked. Steaks and roasts should reach 150 degrees, ground beef 160, and poultry 180. Also be careful with fish and shellfish. Use a meat thermometer to check that foods are safely cooked
Don’t let leftovers linger. All uneaten foods should be refrigerated within the hour that they’ve been cooked, especially during warm or hot weather conditions. Doing so reduces the potential for bacteria growth.
There’s a time to be wasteful. Discard unused marinades which can harbor unseen bacteria.
End where you began and store foods properly. Place uneaten raw and cooked foods in different containers to prevent cross-contamination.
-end-
