These 5 Tips Will Keep You And Your Guests Safe At Your Next BBQ

There's nothing like punctuating a convivial summer BBQ with bouts of vomiting and diarrhea for the next 24 hours. With the rising of grill-smoke and joviality of party chatter amidst the swelter of summer are bred the perfect conditions for bacteria that lead to food poisoning. When Gangnam Style is pumping, the bottles clinking, and the summer swag turned on, are you really paying attention to whether or not you put the grilled meat on the same plate as that when they came out raw? When you're in the frolicking throes of catch-up conversation, is it really that difficult to inadvertently cut the vegetables on the same chopping board as the raw meat without washing it down first? It's all too easy to do, which is precisely why there is an increase of food poisoning in summer months. 

Here are some ways to avoid food bacteria from leeching through to the guts of your guests:

1. Wash Your Hands: Hand-washing is a very simple, common-sense procedure that has proven to be a significant practice for reducing infectious diseases, especially those that are gastrointestinal. Wash your hands after handling raw meat, eggs, fish, and even raw vegetables, as well as after you've used the washroom, and handled your pet.

2. Don't keep food at room temperature for more than one hour on hot summer days.

3. Working on that new marinade you read about in Grill Man's Learn to Smoke BBQ Digest? Make sure you marinate in the fridge or in a cooler filled with ice, and not on the counter. And if you're using a marinade to baste, or as a dipping sauce, make sure it hasn't come in contact with uncooked meat.

4. Bacteria are killed by extreme heat. Raw meat, poultry and seafood must be cooked to a safe internal temperature that kills off E.coli, Salmonella, and Listeria. 

5. This is a biggie: Never put food off the grill on the same plate that you used to put them on--unless it's been thoroughly washed with soap and water. Keep several sets of clean utensils, cutting boards, and plates on-hand for handling the different transitions from counter to grill and back to counter again.