If you’re like many Californians, you’re going to take advantage of this Memorial Day to cook some food for guests. But when you do so, it’s imperative that you not make those same guests ill. To eliminate the threat of foodborne illness, you might thus consider some of the valuable prevention tips included in a new report.
First, make sure that every surface you cook and prepare food on has been scrubbed adequately with soap and hot water. This step should also apply to your own hands. And once you move something like raw meat from a given surface, you should wash it anew so that cross-contamination isn’t possible.
You don’t want ready-made food to make contact with raw food, as this can allow the former to become contaminated. You also shouldn’t use the same preparatory utensils for each.
When you cook, a meat thermometer should be available at all times. Most meat has to be heated to at least 145 degrees, but many times, the temperature has to be even hotter. Ground beef needs to be over 160, and chicken and hot dogs need to reach 165 before being served.
Finally, if food gets left out for quite some time, which is always a possibility at a Memorial Day cookout, make sure to chill that food quickly so that foodborne contaminants can’t set in.