As summer approaches and the warm weather starts to return, you may be heading to the supermarket for your barbecue food. But don’t let bugs or food poisoning spoil your barbecue!
Brentwood Borough Council have issued some advice to make sure your food gets cooked properly and you enjoy your al fresco meal.
- Wait until the charcoal is glowing red, with a powdery grey surface, before you start to cook.
- Make sure frozen food is properly thawed before you cook it.
- Consider cooking chicken indoors first and then putting on the barbecue to get that flame grilled taste
- Turn the food regularly and move it around the barbecue, to cook it evenly.
- Remember, meat that looks cooked on the outside might not be cooked in the middle.
- Don’t take any chances, because eating undercooked meat could cause food poisoning.
- Always check that food is piping hot all the way through.
- Make sure there isn’t any pink meat left in chicken, burgers, sausages and kebabs, and that any juices run clear.
Also, remember to keep raw meat away from cooked meat and ready-to-eat food, like salad and bread rolls to prevent bacteria from spreading. Here are some important safety tips that will help:
- Wash your hands thoroughly after handling raw meat.
- Use separate utensils for raw and cooked meat.
- Never put cooked food on a plate or surface that has been used for raw meat (unless it has been washed thoroughly).
- Don’t put raw meat products next to cooked or partially cooked food on the barbecue.
- Don’t add sauce or marinade to cooked food if it has already been used with raw meat.
- Store any pre-cooked rice or pasta to go with your meal in the fridge up to the point of serving
- Wash your salad
- Carefully plan where you position your barbecue to avoid it being knocked over particularly by children as it could result in severe burns
Brentwood Borough Council’s head of borough safety and localism Ashley Culverwell said: “This is timely advice to ensure that food is properly cooked on barbecues. Undercooked foods can result in a serious case of food poisoning. Barbecues can be enjoyed safely by following these simple tips.”
