Safe-grilling tips for summer
The National Restaurant Association, which educates its members to ensure food safety, offers safe grilling tips. Credit: National Restaurant Association
Summer is more than half over, but there's still a lot of barbecuing time left, so keep your guard up when you fire up the grill. The National Restaurant Association, which educates its members to ensure food safety, offers these safe grilling tips.
While most people know they should wash their hands before and after preparing food, many don't know how to properly wash and for how long. Using the hottest water you can stand, scrub with soap for at least 10 seconds. Use a paper towel to dry.
Use separate utensils for raw and cooked food. If you use the same tongs or spatula to put raw food on the grill and to take it off after it's cooked, you risk cross-contamination.
Use a meat thermometer. While steaks are safe to eat when cooked to an internal temperature of 145 degrees, burgers should be cooked to 155 degrees and chicken to 165 degrees.
