Use these simple guidelines for grilling food safely to prevent harmful bacteria and food borne illness.

#1 Keep it Cold from the Store to Home

• At the store, pick-up your cold food like meat and poultry last and right before checkout.
• Separate raw meat and poultry from other food in your shopping cart.
• To guard against cross-contamination (which can happen when raw meat or poultry juices drip on other food) put packages of raw meat and poultry into plastic bags.
• Try to drive directly home from the grocery store.
• Consider taking a cooler with ice for perishables.
• Always refrigerate perishable food within two hours. (Refrigerate within one hour when the temperature is above 90°F.Place meat and poultry in the refrigerator immediately.
• Freeze poultry and ground meat that won't be used in one or two days.

• Completely defrost meat and poultry before grilling so it cooks more evenly.
• Use the refrigerator for slow, safe thawing or thaw sealed packages in cold water.
• You can microwave defrost if the food will be placed immediately on the grill.

• Meat and poultry can be marinated for several hours or days.
• Marinate food in the refrigerator, not on the counter.
• If you want to use some marinade as a sauce on cooked food, reserve a portion of the marinade before putting raw meat and poultry in it. If the marinade used on raw meat or poultry is to be reused, make sure to let it come to a boil first.

• Use an insulated cooler with sufficient ice or ice packs to keep the food at 40°F or below.
• Pack food right from the refrigerator into the cooler immediately before leaving.

• Keep meat and poultry refrigerated until ready to use.
• Only take out the meat and poultry that will immediately be placed on the grill.
• When using a cooler, keep it out of the direct sun.
• Avoid opening the lid too often, which lets cold air out and warm air in.
• Pack beverages in one cooler and perishables in another.

• Be sure there are plenty of clean utensils and platters.
• Don't use the same platter and utensils for raw and cooked food.
• If you're eating away from home, find a source of clean water. If there is not one, bring water for preparation and cleaning. Pack clean cloths, and wet towelettes for cleaning surfaces and hands.

• Cook food to a safe internal temperature to destroy harmful bacteria.
• Use a food thermometer to be sure the food has reached a safe internal temperature.
  • Whole poultry should reach 180°F; breasts, 170°F.
  • Hamburgers made of ground beef should reach 160°F
  • Ground poultry, 165°F.
  • Beef, veal, and lamb steaks, roasts and chops can be cooked to at least 145°F.
  • All cuts of pork should reach 160°F.
• Never partially grill meat or poultry and finish cooking later. Harmful bacteria will grow between the time you start and finish cooking, even if you refrigerate the food in between.
• If precooking food partially in the microwave, oven, or stove, make sure the food goes immediately on the preheated grill to complete cooking.

• After cooking meat and poultry on the grill, keep it hot until served - at 140°F or warmer.
• Keep cooked meats hot by setting them to the side of the grill rack, not directly over the coals where they could overcook.
• At home, the cooked meat can be kept hot in a warm oven (approximately 200°F), in a chafing dish or slow cooker, or on a warming tray.

• When taking food off the grill, use a clean platter.
• Don't put cooked food on the same platter that held raw meat or poultry.
• In hot weather (above 90°F), food should never sit out for more than one hour.

• Refrigerate any leftovers promptly in shallow containers.
• When reheating fully cooked meats like hot dogs, grill to 165°F or until steaming hot.
• Discard any food left out more than two hours (one hour if temperatures are above 90°F).

Sources: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC); Food Safety and Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture; Cooperative Extension of Seminole County, Florida