Your Food Safety Checklist for Barbecues

• Wash hands before touching foods and after handling raw meat and poultry.

• Make sure all cooking and eating utensils and work surfaces are spotlessly clean before use.

• Defrost frozen meats and poultry (in the fridge or microwave) fully before cooking, unless the cooking instructions state otherwise.

• Light the barbecue well in advance, make sure you use enough charcoal and wait until it is glowing red (with a powdery grey surface) before starting cooking.

• Wash salads and vegetables well to remove all traces of soil and any insects.  Don’t prepare these foods too far in advance.

• At all times, keep meats, salads and other perishable foods in the fridge until just before you are ready to cook/eat them.

• Don’t leave perishable foods out in the warm air.  Once outdoors, perishable foods should be kept cold in a cool bag with ice packs until they are ready to cook/eat.

• If possible, pre-cook all poultry in the microwave or oven, then take them straight to the barbecue to finish off.

• Cook poultry, sausages, burgers and chopped or minced meats right through, until the juices run clear.  Never eat these meats rare.

• During cooking, if food starts to burn on the outside, raise the grill height or reduce the heat of the charcoal (dampen the coals slightly or partially close air vents).

• Keep raw and cooked meats apart. Don’t handle cooked foods with utensils that have touched raw meats.

• Everyone should wash their hands before eating.

• Keep serving bowls covered to protect food from dust and insects.

• Eat food as soon as it is ready.

• Thoroughly clean all cooking and eating utensils and work surfaces after use.

• Throw away any perishable food that has been left out at ambient air temperature for more than a couple of hours, and all food scraps and used paper plates, into a covered rubbish bin.

• Other leftovers should be stored in clean, covered containers in the fridge and eaten within 48 hours