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BBQ Safety Release Date: 31-Aug-2012

Planning on using your barbeque throughout the autumn? Cooking outdoors can present food safety challenges at any time of year.

Follow these tips to protect you and your family from food borne illness:
  • Wash your hands before and after handling food.
  • Keep meat in the fridge until you are ready to barbeque.
  • Thaw and marinate foods in the fridge.
  • Do not reuse the marinade from raw foods on the cooked product.
  • Keep raw meats and poultry separate from ready-to-eat foods.
  • Preheat the barbeque before cooking.
  • Cook foods to the correct temperature. Colour should not be used as an indicator that food is safe to eat; use an accurate instant read thermometer to check that a safe internal temperature has been reached.
  • It is especially important to cook hamburgers and other ground meat products until well done. When meat is ground, bacteria on the surface of the meat get mixed throughout. Thorough cooking will kill any harmful bacteria in the centre of a burger or other ground meat product. Ground beef and pork are not done until they reach an internal temperature of 71oC (160oF). Ground poultry and poultry pieces must be cooked to 74 oC (165 oF). Thin burgers are easier to cook evenly throughout.
  • If you partially cook meat indoors before barbequing, be sure to do this just before putting it out on the grill.
  • Do not use the same plate and utensils for cooked foods that you used for raw. Use a clean plate and utensils when removing cooked food from the grill.
  • Thoroughly clean all surfaces and utensils that have been in contact with raw meat or poultry, including the thermometer.
  • Refrigerate leftovers promptly.

If you have any questions about food safety, call KFL&A Public Health and ask to speak to a public health inspector.
Contact Information
Environmental Health Program
613-549-1232 or
1-800-267-7875, ext. 1248
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