Many of us will fire up the grill during Memorial Day weekend, but don鈥檛 let food poisoning ruin your cookout.
According to the CDC, about 128,000 people are hospitalized and 3,000 people die each year from foodborne illness. As the weather heats up, rates of foodborne illness increase.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety Specialist Archie Magoulas said to remember these four steps: clean, separate, cook and chill.
“Our recommendations may seem conservative, but it鈥檚 better to be safe.”
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First, wash your hands for 20 seconds with warm water. If you鈥檙e at the beach or camping, bring hand sanitizer.
Second, make sure you keep raw and cooked food separate to avoid cross contamination. If you use a plate for raw food, wash it before you use that plate again.
Third, cook food to the correct internal temperature. For example, hamburgers should be 160 degrees in the thickest part. Magoulas strongly recommended using a meat thermometer.
鈥淪o many burgers will turn brown, but they haven鈥檛 quite reached that temperature. And that can happen with any meat even if it鈥檚 not the red meat. White meat can look cooked, but it鈥檚 not quite there.鈥�
Magoulas said the fourth step is also the most common mistake. Put food away in the fridge or cooler, and don鈥檛 leave it sitting out.
鈥淧ut everything away when it鈥檚 room temperature within two hours,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou leave food out too long, throw it out. Don鈥檛 even give it to your pets.鈥�
For more information, call the Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-674-6854 or .
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