In the News - June 2009
Food safety rules apply when grilling
LITTLE ROCK - During warm summer months, picnic areas and campgrounds around
the state fill with vacationers, grilling their favorite meats over open flames.
As with all cooking, "If you keep your hands clean, cook meat to a proper
temperature, and handle it properly, you decrease your risk of being infected
from any number of organisms," said Dr. Denise Brochetti, an extension assistant
professor of nutrition with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.
Food safety starts at the store
Food safety begins at the grocery store. Meat and poultry should be
refrigerated within two hours of purchase or within one hour if the temperature
is above 90 degrees. Poultry or ground beef that won’t be used in one or two
days should be frozen. Other meats should be frozen within four or five days.
Meats can be thawed in the refrigerator, or sealed packages can be thawed in
cold water. If the meat is going to be placed immediately on the grill,
defrosting in the microwave is fine.
Degrees of safety on the grill
Meat headed to a campground should be packed with ice in a cooler.
"You have to think about keeping it cold, long enough to get it to the
grill," Brochetti said. This means keeping the cooler out of direct sun and
avoiding opening the lid too often.
Temperature counts when applying heat too. Even though meat and poultry
cooked on the grill often browns very fast on the outside, a food thermometer
should be used to make sure the food reaches safe internal temperatures to avoid
food-borne illnesses:
- Chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
- Hamburgers and pork should reach 160.
- Beef, veal and lamb steaks, roasts and chops should reach
160 degrees if cooked medium, or 145 degrees if cooked medium rare.
- Reheating fully cooked meats like hot dogs, grill to 165
degrees or until steaming hot.
- Cooked meat and poultry should be kept to the side of the grilling
rack and kept at 140 degrees or warmer until served
"A lot of the illnesses you see are from chicken or ground beef, and
improperly cooking those foods," Brochetti said.
Leftovers should be refrigerated promptly. Throw out any food left out for
more than 2 hours, or one hour if the temperature is above 90.
Signs of trouble
Most food-borne illnesses are caused by bacteria. Though numerous types of
bacteria can cause different illnesses with different symptoms, flu-like
symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and sometimes
fever, are the most common, Brochetti said.
The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the U of A Division of
Agriculture. The Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service offers its program to
all eligible persons regardless of race, color, national origin, religion,
gender, age, disability, marital or veteran status, or any other legally
protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
June 26, 2009
By Pryor Jordan
For the Cooperative Extension Service
Media Contact: Elizabeth Fortune
Extension Communications Specialist
U of A Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2120
efortune@uaex.edu
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