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Always make sure you cook chicken, pork, burgers,
sausages and kebabs until they're piping hot all the way through,
none of the meat is pink and any juices run clear.
When you're barbecuing, the biggest risk of food poisoning is from
raw and undercooked meat.
If you're barbecuing for lots of people, you could
cook meat indoors and finish it off on the barbecue for added flavour.
Remember, when you reheat food on the barbecue,
always make sure it's piping hot all the way through before serving.
How can I make sure barbecued food is cooked properly?
Wait until the charcoal is glowing red, with a powdery grey surface,
before you start to cook.
Make sure frozen food is properly thawed before you cook it.
Turn the food regularly, and move it around the barbecue, to cook
it evenly.
Check that the centre of the food is piping hot.
Don't assume that if meat is charred on the outside that it will
be cooked properly on the inside.
Why should I keep raw meat away from ready-to-eat
food?
Raw meat can contain food poisoning bugs. So if raw meat touches
or drips onto food that is already cooked or ready to eat, the bugs
can get onto that food.
Bugs can also transfer onto food from your hands, chopping board,
knife or tongs. This is called cross-contamination. You can prevent
it by doing the following things.
Always wash your hands thoroughly after handling raw meat.
Use separate utensils for raw and cooked meat.
Never put cooked food on a plate or surface that has been used for
raw meat.
Keep raw meat in a sealed container away from ready-to-eat foods,
such as burger buns and salads.
Don't put raw meat products next to cooked or partially cooked meat
on the barbecue.
Don't add sauce or marinade to cooked food if it has already been
used with raw meat.
Outdoor eating
Warm weather is perfect for bacteria to grow, so it's especially
important to keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold until you're
ready to eat them.
If you're having a buffet, try to keep the food out of the fridge
for the shortest time possible.
If there are any leftovers from a buffet or barbecue, throw them
away or put them in the fridge as soon as you can. When you take
leftovers out of the fridge, eat them immediately or reheat them
thoroughly straight away - don't leave them standing around at room
temperature.
It's especially important to keep the following foods chilled: food
containing cream, such as trifle, cream cakes and desserts, meat
and poultry and food containing raw eggs.
Picnics
When you're going on a picnic, you should also be careful to keep
food cool. Don't take it out of the fridge until the last minute
and use a cool bag to keep it chilled until you're ready to eat.
Always try to wash your hands before eating but, if you can't, you
could use antiseptic hand wipes instead.
When you're eating outdoors you should also remember to keep food
covered whenever possible - this is to protect it from insects,
birds and pets.
Wash fruit and salad vegetables thoroughly.
Barbecue recipe ideas from Norfolk chefs
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