Food and Drink

Food Safety Tips for Barbecuing Hamburgers

If you eat undercooked ground beef it may result in a type of food poisoning commonly referred to as hamburger disease. You can minimize risks by handling and cooking raw ground beef properly. Health Canada's "Food Safety Tips for Barbecuing Hamburgers" is designed to help.

Get ready for the sizzle

• At the grocery store, pack raw meat separately from other products;
• Wash your hands thoroughly before and after handling any raw food - especially meat, poultry and seafood;
• Use hot soapy water to clean all surfaces (refrigerators, counters, dishes, utensils, thermometers, etc.) that come in contact with raw meat;
• Make burger patties thin so that they cook all the way through;
• Do not let ready-to-eat foods like lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, etc… come into contact with raw meat or its juices; and
• Pre-heat the gas barbecue before cooking. If using a charcoal barbecue, use enough charcoal and wait until it is glowing red before starting to cook.

Are the burgers ready yet?

• Your beef burger is done when its internal temperature reaches 71°C (160°F);
• Colour alone is not a reliable indicator that a burger is safe to eat -- burgers can turn brown before all bacteria are killed;
• Reduce the heat or raise the height of the grill if food starts to burn during cooking -- remember it's the internal temperature of the patty that is important;
• Make sure all patties are ready! If you are cooking more than one, take the temperature in several of the thickest patties;
• Remove the patty from the grill and insert the thermometer through the side, all the way to the middle of the patty;
• Keep on cooking! Continue cooking your burgers if any reading is less than 71°C (160°F);
• Probe type food thermometers with digital read-outs work best for determining if your burger is done. Make sure all patties are ready! If you are cooking more than one, take the temperature in several of the thickest patties;
• Remember to wash the thermometer between temperature measurements;
• Oven-safe meat thermometers designed for testing whole poultry and roasts during cooking are not suitable for measuring the temperature of beef patties; and
• Use clean utensils and plates when removing cooked meats from the heat source.

It's ready and there's some left over!

• Cover and store leftover cooked food in the refrigerator or cooler within 2 hours; and
• Reheat leftovers to 74°C (165°F).