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BBQ Safety

Introduction

Each year millions of people around the globe will be firing up their grills to enjoy the advantages and unique flavor of outdoor grilling (remember from last month that there is a difference between grilling and true BBQ). Unfortunately, there will also be hundreds of people each year that will suffer from food-related illnesses. In rare cases, these can also lead to hospitalization and research would suggest that even greater hazards exist if proper care is not exercised by our techniques and lack of good judgment. Most of the time BBQ safety requires nothing more than good judgment on out part and an observance of what we have already learned throughout our life.

Modern science has found reason to suggest that the possibility exists that certain types of cancers may be promoted by grilling. It is true that that grilling (cooking food over high heat in excess of 300 degrees) will cause red meats, poultry, game and fish to produce "heterocyclic amines" (HCA's) and and "polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons" (PAH's) to form under certain conditions. It is also true that no hard evidence yet exists to suggest that eating "moderate" amounts of these foods causes any undue risk.

To reduce your risk even further follow a few simple safety tips:

1. Grill foods at lower temperatures. Reducing the heat will reduce the chance for excess smoking and flare-ups. Use the lowest heat settings possible to achieve thorough cooking.
2. Avoid allowing fats and juices from the meat to drip onto the hot coals, burners and grill stones. Dripping fats and juices produce the harmful by-products which are carried by the smoke and redeposited onto the meat. place the heat source to the side of the meat and cook by using an "indirect" heating method. Place a pan or tray of water beneath the meat to catch the drips and prevent the from burning and keep it replenished as it evaporates. This will also increase the humidity inside the grill and prevent the meat from drying out.
3. Do not allow the meat to char. If charring occurs, trim the charred areas off before consuming the meat.
4. Partially "pre-cook" the meat before putting it on the grill. This will reduce the cooking time and thereby reduce the exposure to harmful by-products.
5. Use lean cuts of meat and remove excess fat. This will reduce the amount of fat that can drip on hot surfaces.
6. Keep a spray bottle handy to extinguish "flare-ups".
7. Do not "overcook" foods. Use a thermometer to determine "doneness" (read on for proper temperatures). Overcooking increases the exposure to harmful by-products and cooking time. Try using "Branding Irons" to help you remember which cuts are to be grilled to what degree of doneness.
8. Marinate foods for extra flavor. This way you will depend less on the grill for flavor.
9. Apply sauces at the proper time. Brush on light, oil-based sauces early in the cooking process for less smoke, but avoid brushing on sugary, sweet sauces until late in the cooking process to avoid charring.
10. For more "smoke flavor" brush on some "liquid smoke"  prior to grilling. This way you will depend less on the grill for that smoke flavor.
11. Increase flavor by adding fresh herbs, citrus or apple peels or fresh garlic cloves to your coals toward the end of the cooking process. This will decrease the amount of time that your food must be exposed to possible by-products while increasing flavor.

While this will help reduce the risk of harmful by-products of cooking, a more immediate threat does exist if we fail to follow a few simple safety rules for preparing and handling foods. The threat I'm speaking of is bacteria that surround us every day. They are unseen and seldom make their presence known to us until we are greeted by their unpleasant effects. Bacteria are microscopic in size, odorless, tasteless and multiple prolifically in the right environment, such as raw or undercooked meats and meat products. This is a normal process of nature, whereby the bacteria are simply fulfilling their designed role of starting the decomposition process. Unfortunately, bacteria fail to posses the ability to distinguish between foods to decompose and foods we are going to consume. It is all food to them and being the opportunistic critters they are, know an easy meal when they find it. We as humans however, posses the intellectual capacity to thwart their attempts at an easy meal if we will but follow a few "common sense" rules:

1. Thaw meat thoroughly in the refrigerator. Do not thaw foods outside the refrigerator and do not allow perishable foods (especially meats) to sit out for more than two hours and less than a hour when the temperatures are above 90° F.
2. When pre-cooking meats to decrease grilling times, place the meat on the grill immediately. Partially cooked meat is a veritable "Garden of Eden" to bacteria and will become contaminated quickly if left out.
3. Cook the meat thoroughly before serving. The only accurate method of determining "doneness" is to use a thermometer. Use this handy guide to determine doneness:
   • Hamburgers and other ground meats should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160° F.
   • Fully-cooked hotdogs to 165° F.
   • Chicken to 165° F.
   • Medium rare steaks to 160° F.
   • Well-done steaks to 170°

   After cooking, keep foods at 140° F. or warmer to keep bacteria from taking up residence on your food. Remember that seeing juice from the meat is NO INDICATION OF DONENESS! Internal temperatures of meat that is still pink on the inside can be higher than meat that has lost its color. Use a thermometer. Remember that overcooking increases the exposure time of harmful by-products.

4. Always remember to wash your paws after handling raw meat. A thorough washing of at least 20 seconds with an anti-bacterial soap and warm water is required to insure safety.
5. Always either use separate utensils to handle raw and cooked foods or wash any utensils used to handle raw foods before they are used to handle cooked foods.
6. Use "clean dished, plates and platters to place cooked foods on. Never use dishes for cooked foods that have been used with uncooked foods unless they have been thoroughly washed.
7. Marinate foods for grilling to eliminate bacteria. Studies have shown that marinating in a high vinegar or sodium marinate greatly reduces the risk of bacteria and reduces the amount of HCA's (see above) by as much as 92 - 99 percent. Marinate in the refrigerator and NEVER marinate foods on the counter top. If you wish to use some of your marinate for dipping, reserve some out prior to marinating. NEVER re-use marinate after it has been in contact with meats.
8. Clean your grill. Clean your grill with hot soapy water to remove fats and charred remains of food. Also sterilize your cleaned grates by exposing them to high heat for 10 - 15 minutes before placing food on them.
9. Keep the food chilled prior to cooking. Keep a cooler of ice handy to store foods in prior to grilling.
10. Never allow juices from uncooked foods to come in contact with cooked foods as this will contaminate the cooked foods.
11. IF IN DOUBT, THROW IT OUT! Foods should never be allowed to sit outside of refrigeration for extended periods of time and when the temperatures hit 90° F or higher, you have less than an hour before bacteria finds and takes up residence. Never keep cooked foods longer than 3 days. Any longer and you're flirting with disaster, so throw it out.

Conclusion

By following the above guidelines you will be able to enjoy wonderful grilled foods and great times with friends with minimal or not risk. Let me stress again that there is no evidence that consuming "moderate" amounts of grilled foods posses any threat and that by following the above guidelines, you reduce that risk even further. Both from by-products and bacteria. So get out there and fire up that grill!

I'M HUNGRY - LET'S EAT!

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In This Article

• Introduction

• a few simple safety tips

• follow a few "common sense" rules

• Conclusion