Susan M. Morgan, CFCS, MED
Extension Agent
Family and Consumer Sciences
Bolivia, NC 28422
June 2003

SAFE GRILLING

The choice of chicken, ribs, burgers or steaks isn't the most important preparation for your backyard cookout. Not the way Susan Morgan sees it. "Put safety first," says Morgan, a foods and nutrition and food safety agent with North Carolina Cooperative Extension's Brunswick County Center. "Safe food handling is always important. But during the summer grilling season, we need to be even more aware of food handling practices."

People cooking in the backyard or at a picnic site may not always be as good at hand-washing and personal hygiene as they are in the kitchen, she said. But keeping hands, dishes and utensils clean is critical when grilling. Bacteria thrive on hot days, and this can lead to food-borne illness.

Foodborne Illness is No Picnic
"Nothing can spoil summer fun like a case of food-borne illness," says Morgan. Symptoms can range from diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain and fever to long-term health problems such as arthritic conditions, heart complications and central nervous system or kidney disorders. Some cases can even kill you. Anyone can get sick from the backyard grill or whenever food is mishandled, Morgan said. Infants, young children, pregnant women and the elderly are especially susceptible to complications of food-borne illness. So are people whose immune systems are weakened by AIDS, liver disease or cancer treatment. "Fortunately, food-borne illness is preventable," she said. "You just have to pay attention to food safety rules."

Follow These Steps

Steps for Safe Grilling

1. Start with clean hands, utensils, dishes and work surfaces. "If you're grilling away from home, take some disposable hand wipes along," Morgan said.
2. Keep any meats refrigerated or in a cooler with ice until the grill is hot.
3. Marinate raw meat, fish and poultry in the refrigerator or cooler, not on the counter.
4. Once you put it on the grill, cook meat and poultry thoroughly. "Use a meat thermometer to know for sure when foods are safely cooked," she said.

An inexpensive instant read thermometer is a "must have" in the kitchen and at the grill. Temperatures can be measured internally in approximately 15 seconds with one of these.

Cook cuts of beef like roasts to an internal temperature of at least 145° F for medium rare, 160 for medium and 170 for well done. "Be aware that meat cooked to 145 degrees still carries some bacterial risk," she said. Cook whole poultry to 180°. Whatever you do, don't undercook hamburgers. "To be sure you destroy bacteria, cook meat patties to at least 160° and ground poultry to 165°," Morgan said. And be sure to use the thermometer to be sure. You can't just look at a piece of meat and see that it is cooked properly.

Some outdoor chefs like to speed grilling time by partially precooking meat or poultry. That's OK if the food goes right from the microwave or range to the grill, she said. But interrupted cooking is risky business. Viruses and bacteria can make food unsafe if they are temperature abused.

Handling Leftovers
When it's done, never put grilled food back on the dish it came from. "If you put meat or poultry back onto plates with raw juices," she said, "you can put bacteria right back on the foods you just cooked." Grilled food never tastes better than when it's hot, right off the grill and it's never safer, either.

"As with any food, don't eat grilled foods that have been left at room temperature for more than two hours," Morgan said. "If the food is outside on a hot day (85 or warmer), one hour is a safer rule. "If foods sit outside on buffet tables there are a lot of chances for contamination to occur," she said, "it's best to throw leftovers away."

Safe Grilling Tips
To make sure your outdoor grilling project is safe, follow these tips:

• Be careful lighting the fire. Never use gasoline, fuel oil or kerosene. (They're dangerous, and their smoke leaves an oily aftertaste on the food.)
• Keep clothes and hair restrained. Roll up shirt sleeves, tuck shirts in and avoid wearing loose, flowing skirts or scarves. Keep long hair restricted, too.
• Use long-handled utensils and potholders. Keep cookware handles turned to one side away from the heat. Keep a water spray bottle or hose close by in case of a flare up.
• Be sure the fire is completely out before you leave it.

Susan Morgan is Extension Agent, Family and Consumer Sciences for the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service in Brunswick County. For more information or questions, contact Susan at (910) 253-2610 or P. O. Box 109, Bolivia, NC 28422.

Please e-mail Susan Morgan, Extension Agent, Family and Consumer Sciences, CFCS, for further information or assistance.

The information presented is for educational purposes only. References to trade names is made with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service is implied.

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North Carolina State University and North Carolina A&T State University commit themselves to positive action to secure equal opportunity regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, or disability. In addition, the two Universities welcome all persons without regard to sexual orientation.

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Date Created 6/20/2003