Barbecuing Food Safety Tips
Preventing foodborne illness

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The safe chef Everybody loves a barbecue, but careful preparation is essential to preventing foodborne illness. Follow these tips from Canada’s food safety experts. Play it "food safe" this summer – and all year long! Your Barbecue Food Safety Checklist 1. Get off to a CLEAN start! Handwashing is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of foodborne illness. Have you washed your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and warm water before and after handling food? Wash again when you switch from one food to another. Are your countertops and utensils clean and sanitized? Sanitizing reduces bacteria and can prevent foodborne illness.

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2. CHILL out by the BBQ!

• Keep food cool at or below 4ºC (40ºF). It’s best to keep perishable food in the fridge or cooler until you are ready to cook it or eat it. Bacteria can grow and "spoil" food left in the temperature danger zone (4º to 60ºC/40º to 140ºF) for more than two hours. On a hot summer day, consider decreasing this to one hour or less.
• Keep the cooler cool. Pack the cooler with freezer packs to keep the temperature at or below 4ºC (40ºF). Keep the cooler away from direct sunlight.

  Foodsafe tip: You may want to use two coolers – one for drinks (since it may get opened more often) and another for food.

3. COOK safely!

• Have a digital food thermometer handy. Prevent foodborne illness by cooking food to a safe internal temperature. Food safety experts say food thermometers are the only way to cook foods safely without overcooking!
• Keep hot food hot at or above 60ºC (140ºF) to prevent the growth of bacteria and reduce the chance of foodborne illness.

4. SEPARATE raw and cooked food!

• Raw food can cross-contaminate cooked food and cause foodborne illness. Keep raw and cooked food separate and covered.

  Foodsafe tip: Before marinating meat, set some marinade aside in the fridge so you can use it later to baste meat or as a dipping sauce. Do not use leftover marinade from the raw food on the cooked food.

• Have clean plates and cooking utensils ready. Never use the same plate, tray or utensils for raw and cooked food. Raw meat juices can spread bacteria to your safely cooked food and cause foodborne illness!

Six easy tips for safe leftovers

1. Cool food quickly to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria! To speed up the cooling process of large pots of food, place the pot in a sink full of ice-water for no more than two hours and stir it occasionally. Change the water often.
2. Store food in shallow containers. Cover containers when cool to prevent cross-contamination.
3. Refrigerate as soon as possible! If food is held in the danger zone (4°C to 60°C / 40° to 140°F) for two hours or longer, don’t keep it as leftovers. You can’t tell if food is safe by looking, smelling or tasting it. Remember, when in doubt, throw it out! On hot summer days, don’t hold food at room temperature for more than one hour.
4. Do not overstuff the fridge! Cool air needs to circulate around the food.
5. Eat properly handled leftovers within two to three days for best quality and safety. Reheat leftovers to 74°C (165°F).
6. Freeze leftovers right away if you don’t think you’ll eat them within two to three days.

Safeguarding Canada’s Food Supply

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is the Government of Canada’s science-based regulator for animal health, plant protection and, in partnership with Health Canada, food safety.

For more information on food safety or to order free copies of this brochure, visit the CFIA website at www.inspection.gc.ca or call 1 800 442-2342/TTY 1 800 465-7735 (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday to Friday). You can also find food safety information on the Health Canada and Canadian Partnership for Consumer Food Safety Education websites respectively at www.hc-sc.gc.ca and www.canfightbac.org.

Cat. no.: A104-9/2005E
ISBN: 0-662-41096-3
P0060E-05/07