Food safety tips for barbecue season: A message from Health Canada

Many Canadians love to barbecue all year round, but especially when the weather's hot.  As with any type of cooking, it's important to follow safe food handling guidelines to prevent harmful bacteria from spreading and causing foodborne illness.  Visit Canada.ca to find out more.

Food safety tips for barbecue season:

• Make sure to keep raw meat away from other foods, including vegetables such as lettuce and tomatoes.
• Refrigerate food and leftovers promptly.
• Wash your hands and surfaces often with warm, soapy water.
• Use separate utensils, cutting boards, dishes and other cooking equipment when handling raw and cooked meats.
• Use ice packs in coolers. You may also want to use two coolers, one for drinks (as it may get opened more often) and another one for food.
• Cook meat thoroughly and use a digital food thermometer.  Colour alone is not a reliable indicator that meat is safe to eat.
• Make sure to inspect your BBQ brush before each use and throw it away if you notice that the bristles are loose or stuck to the grill.
• For more information, check out our Information Update.

Thank you for helping to keep Canadians safe and healthy!

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