Tips On Avoiding Food-Borne Illness This Fourth Of July, Summer: Grill Like A PRO

AUSTIN, TX — We're all rooting for you to have a successful cookout this Fourth of July. The well-wishers for your culinary success include federal regulators who offer a handy mnemonic device designed to avoid food-borne illness among your guests as under-cooking one's meats would surely ruin the party.

The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Servicewants you to "Grill Like a Pro" during your outdoor festivities this Independence Day and all summer long. Doing so is as easy as remembering the acronym PRO.

"Keeping your family and loved ones safe from foodborne illness this summer can mean doing something as simple as using a food thermometer when grilling meat, poultry, and fish," regulators wrote on their website. "Unfortunately, recent research by USDA and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found that only 24 percent of the public uses a food thermometer when cooking hamburgers and only 42 percent do so when cooking chicken."

Preventing foodborne illness this summer is as easy as following these three easy steps when cooking meat or poultry on the grill:

P—Place the Thermometer!
"When you think your food is cooked, check the internal temperature by inserting the thermometer into the thickest part of the meat (usually about 1.5 to 2 inches deep)," FSIS officials said. "If you are cooking a thinner piece of meat, like chicken breasts or hamburger patties, insert the thermometer from the side. Make sure that the probe reaches the center of the meat."

R—Read the Temperature!

Wait about 10 to 20 seconds for an accurate temperature reading. Use the following safe internal temperature guidelines for your meat and poultry.

• Beef, Pork, Lamb, and Veal (steaks, roasts, chops) and Fish: 145°F (63°C) with a 3-minute rest time
• Ground meats: 160°F (71°C)
• Whole poultry, poultry breasts, & ground poultry: 165°F (74°C)

O—Off the Grill!

Once the meat and poultry reach their safe minimum internal temperatures, take the food off the grill and place it onto a clean platter. Don’t put cooked food on the same platter that held raw meat or poultry. Also, remember to clean your food thermometer probe with hot, soapy water or disposable wipes.
Now that you’re grilling like a PRO, it’s important to remember to keep your food at a safe temperature during your entire cookout. Perishable food should not be left out for more than two hours. In hot weather (above 90°F), food should never sit out for more than one hour.

Happy grilling! And Happy Fourth of July! And long live summertime!

For more food safety information? Call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at (1-888-674-6854) Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET, or email or chat at AskKaren.gov.

>>> Image via Wikimedia Commons