Eating Safely This Summer

Summer is here and that means BBQ season is too!

We are excited that BBQ season is finally here!  As with any type of cooking, it’s important to follow safe food handling guidelines to prevent food borne illness.  Here are some tips below:

1. Keep cold food cold

When purchasing foods at the grocery store, collect refrigerated and frozen foods last, and place them in your cart.  Aim to have perishable foods put back in the fridge and freezer within 1-2 hours, especially in warm weather.  Consider taking a cooler with you to store your perishable foods.  Once at home, put away raw meat, milk, yogurt and cheese first.  Then put away frozen foods.  When transporting food to a BBQ, take a cooler with ice packs.  Keep the cooler out of direct sunlight and void opening it too often.

1. Thawing

If thawing meat for a BBQ, make sure to thaw it in the fridge, not on the counter.  Other options are thawing in the microwave or cooking from frozen.

1. Cooking

Use a thermometer to ensure that foods are cooked thoroughly.  Cooking to safe internal temperatures will kill bacteria such as salmonella, campylobacter and E. coli.  Color alone is not a reliable indicator that the food is safe to eat.  Health Canada has a chart for safe internal cooking temperatures:  https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/general-food-safety-tips/safe-internal-cooking-temperatures-chart.html

1. Keep Hot foods Hot

Keep hot foods hot until served.  Cooked foods can be stored on the side of the grill, not directly over the heat source where they can over cook.

 

1. Leftovers

Cool foods quickly by placing them in shallow containers.  Throw away left over food that has been sitting out for more than 2 hours at room temperature.  In hot weather, throw away left overs that have been out for more than 1 hour.