Are barbecues bad for you?

One man’s meat …
You couldn’t design a better place for food poisoning than your average summer barbecue; raw meat is left out in the sun, then gets charred briefly on a grill so that it is burnt on the outside and raw on the inside. Add an inexperienced chef (often the only time ‘Him Indoors’ puts an apron on) with dubious hygiene practices (wash those hands, please) and hot weather, and you have ideal conditions for salmonella and E. Coli.

According to the Food Standards Agency, last year the weekly number of notified food poisoning cases doubled in the summer months to over 100,000 – and that’s only counting cases referred to a doctor.

How to avoid food poisoning
The Food Standards Agency recommends that you prepare your barbecue well in advance, store all food safely, cook thoroughly and observe good hygiene throughout. Follow these guidelines:

• Wash your hands. Anyone preparing food should wash their hands thoroughly and if you are cooking on the beach or at a campsite without an easy source of water, make sure you take plenty of disposable wipes.
• Avoid cross-contamination. The most important rule is not to cross-contaminate by mixing raw and cooked meats – use separate cutting boards, dishes and utensils for raw meats.
• Pre-cook meats, fish and poultry in the oven then briefly grill for flavour. Make sure that the food goes immediately to the preheated grill and NEVER part-cook on the barbecue and finish cooking later.
• Cook all meat thoroughly until the juices run clear, remembering to turn the food regularly so that it cooks evenly.