Are you cooking your barbecue chicken properly?

Are you cooking your chicken on the barbecue properly? That’s what the Food Standards Agency (FSA) is hoping you will be doing to avoid becoming a food poisoning statistic.

As soon as the weather warms up, there is a 50 per cent increase in the case numbers of campylobacter poisoning between July and September.

Head of Foodborne Disease at the Food Standards Agency, Kevin Hargin says: “We all want to serve up a sensational barbecue that also helps keep our family and friends safe. Although it’s great to be spontaneous, it’s safer and easier on the day if you prepare in advance by following simple measures such as pre-cooking chicken in the oven before putting it on the barbeque to ensure it’s cooked through, not washing raw chicken and avoiding cross-contamination of raw meats.”

You can help avoid the build-up of food poisoning bugs by taking the following simple steps:

1.Pre-cook – it’s a very good idea to cook all chicken in the oven prior to giving it a final ‘finish’ on your barbecue where possible. Your friends and family will still experience that special barbecue ‘charred’ taste – and you will know that you’ve cooked the chicken all the way through. This technique can also be used for sausages, burgers and kebabs if you’re cooking for large numbers, as you’ll want to avoid providing undercooked food.

2.Charred doesn’t mean cooked – cook your barbecue food thoroughly until you are sure that your poultry, pork, burgers, sausages and kebabs are steaming hot, with no pink meat inside. Turning meat regularly and moving it around the barbecue will help to cook it evenly. Charred on the outside doesn’t always mean cooked on the inside so it’s always safer to cut open and check your burgers, sausages and chicken. If in doubt – keep cooking.

3.Remember, disposable BBQs take longer to heat up and to cook food – always check that your meat is cooked right through before serving.

4.Avoid cross-contamination by storing raw meat separately before cooking – use different utensils, plates and chopping boards for raw and cooked food. Always wash your hands thoroughly with soap and hot water and dry them before handling your food for the barbecue and after handling raw foods including meat, fish, eggs and vegetables.

5.Don’t wash raw chicken or other meat – cooking will kill any bacteria present, including campylobacter. Washing chicken, or other meat, can spread dangerous bugs on to your hands, clothes, utensils and worktops by splashing.

6.Keep plates and cutlery away from raw meat and fish – never serve your guests cooked food on a plate or surface that’s had raw meat or fish on it, and don’t use cutlery or marinades that have been in contact with raw meat. There’s no point in serving up food with a flourish if you’re adding bugs back into the mix.

7.Keep cold foods below 8°C and hot foods above 63°C – don’t leave food that you would store refrigerated standing around in the warm. You can get a cool bag for this purpose. Keep the number of times the bag is opened to a minimum until the food is eaten.

8.Cook marinades thoroughly if you intend to use them as a glaze or sauce

9.If you’re preparing rice beforehand, ensure it is fully cooked – cool and refrigerate it within one-hour of cooking and make sure it is consumed within 24-hours