Safe Grilling Tips

Now that the weather is warm, you might be thinking about grilling throughout the coming months. Grilling provides lots of new flavors and food choices. But, before you light up the fire (or turn on the gas), let's go over some important food safety tips.

Food Handling and Cooking

Defrost meat, poultry or fish properly, such as in the refrigerator, microwave, as part of the cooking process, or under cold running water. Do not simply set food on the counter to thaw.

Avoid cross-contamination. Cross-contamination is what happens when bacteria is transferred from one food or surface to another. To avoid cross-contamination, remember the following:

• Use separate cutting boards and utensils for meat and other foods, such as vegetables, fruit or bread


• Wash your hands, especially between handling different types of foods. The importance of this simple step cannot be stressed enough


• Keep foods separate. Juice from raw meat, fish or poultry can contaminate other foods. And, don't put cooked foods on the same dish used for raw meats


• Discard used marinades. It's best to use a clean brush and fresh sauce to baste foods
  

When cooking on the grill (or indoors), be sure to check the temperature of the meat to make sure it is completely cooked. It is not enough to simply rely on if the food looks done. Cook meat or poultry to the following internal temperatures:

Poultry: 165

Ground Beef: 155

Pork, Beef, Veal, Lamb: 145

Fish: 145

Have a fun, safe summer!