The July 4 weekend often brings safety training about fireworks. But this year, put a new spin on fireworks safety training by giving your employees safety tips for healthy barbecuing—so they can enjoy outdoor cooking without the internal fireworks of heartburn, gas, or even food poisoning!
Train your employees how to keep themselves safe from purchase to plate on this holiday weekend. Give employees these recommendations for safe outdoor cooking from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service:
Purchase:
- Bring a cooler with ice to the grocery store when you plan to buy meat.
- Pick up meat as the last item before checkout.
- Make sure meat is packaged separately from other foods and put in plastic bags to prevent drips.
- Drive straight home from the store.
Preparation:
- Place meat in the refrigerator immediately. Put meat you’re not using in the next 24 hours in the freezer.
- Thaw meat in the refrigerator or place in a sealed package in a bowl of cold water.
- Thaw thoroughly before grilling.
- Marinade in the refrigerator.
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Cooking
- Cook meat to safe temperatures. Use a meat thermometer to check temps.
- Whole poultry: 165°F
- Poultry breasts: 165°F
- Ground poultry: 165°F
- Hamburgers, beef: 160°F
- Beef, veal, and lamb (steaks, roasts, and chops):
- Medium rare 145°F
- Medium 160°F
- All cuts of pork: 160°F
Serving
- Use a clean platter to serve meat. Don’t use the same plate or utensils that held the raw meat.
- Don’t leave food out for more than 2 hours, 1 hour if the temperature is greater than 90ºF.
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Happy Independence Day!
Why It Matters
- Three out of four U.S. households own a barbecue grill.
- More than half of Americans grill outdoors year-round.
- Over 85 million Americans report cases of food-related illnesses every year, which includes more than 370,000 hospitalizations and around 5,700 deaths. These foodborne illness statistics don’t break out illnesses from barbecues, but improperly handled and cooked meat can cause deadly foodborne illness.