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Food safety and 4th of July barbecues
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Photo: Michal Zacharzewski
With the 4th of July a couple of days away and a long weekend for many people, the smell of food on the grill will permeate the air here in Tampa.
The last thing you need this weekend is coming down with a nasty case of food poisoning because of something you should have or shouldn’t have done.
I will try to provide you with some basic food safety tips to help keep your weekend from getting ruined.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) offer the following recommendations:
• When shopping, buy cold food like meat and poultry last, right before checkout. Separate raw meat and poultry from other food in your shopping cart. To guard against cross-contamination — which can happen when raw meat or poultry juices drip on other food — put packages of raw meat and poultry into plastic bags.
• At home, place meat and poultry in the refrigerator immediately. Freeze poultry and ground meat that won't be used in 1 or 2 days; freeze other meat within 4 to 5 days.
• Completely thaw meat and poultry before grilling so it cooks more evenly. Use the refrigerator for slow, safe thawing or thaw sealed packages in cold water. You can microwave defrost if the food will be placed immediately on the grill.
• Marinate food in the refrigerator, not on the counter. Poultry and cubed meat or stew meat can be marinated up to 2 days. Beef, veal, pork, and lamb roasts, chops, and steaks may be marinated up to 5 days.
• Keep meat and poultry refrigerated until ready to use. Only take out the meat and poultry that will immediately be placed on the grill.
• When carrying food to another location, keep it cold to minimize bacterial growth.
• Keep meat and poultry refrigerated until ready to use. Only take out the meat and poultry that will immediately be placed on the grill.
• Be sure there are plenty of clean utensils and platters. To prevent foodborne illness, don't use the same platter and utensils for raw and cooked meat and poultry. Harmful bacteria present in raw meat and poultry and their juices can contaminate safely cooked food.
• Precooking food partially in the microwave, oven, or stove is a good way of reducing grilling time. Just make sure that the food goes immediately on the preheated grill to complete cooking.
• Cook food to a safe minimum internal temperature to destroy harmful bacteria. Meat and poultry cooked on a grill often browns very fast on the outside.
• Use a food thermometer to be sure the food has reached a safe minimum internal temperature. Beef, veal, and lamb steaks, roasts and chops can be cooked to 145 °F. Hamburgers made of ground beef should reach 160 °F. All cuts of pork should reach 160 °F. All poultry should reach a minimum of 165 °F.
• When reheating fully cooked meats like hot dogs, grill to 165 °F or until steaming hot.
• After cooking meat and poultry on the grill, keep it hot until served — at 140 °F or warmer.
• When taking food off the grill, use a clean platter. Don't put cooked food on the same platter that held raw meat or poultry.
• In hot weather (above 90 °F), food should never sit out for more than 1 hour.
• Smoking is done much more slowly than grilling, so less tender meats benefit from this method, and a natural smoke flavoring permeates the meat. The temperature in the smoker should be maintained at 250 to 300 °F for safety.
• Use a food thermometer to be sure the food has reached a safe internal temperature.
Enjoy that burger and chicken and have a great 4th.
For more info: Food Safety Project
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