(NAFB) The Fourth of July weekend means a lot of grills firing up for holiday meals. Don’t forget the importance of food safety when cooking on a grill. Meredith Carrothers, technical information specialist with the Food Safety and Inspection Service, talked about the importance of a food thermometer in making sure meat is properly cooked
“Color is not a reliable indicator of doneness. So, if you do cut into a burger, and you’re like, ‘Oh, this looks pretty brown, that means it must be cooked,’ there have been studies done that show a burger that looks brown or meat that looks brown has not reached a safe internal temperature, and vice versa, where it’s still kind of pink, but it’s reached a safe internal temperature. So, that food thermometer will really help you nail down exactly what that internal temperature is, in a way that you don’t even have to guess. The color, then, is what it is, and you know that your food is safe.”
Do not forget coolers and a lot of cold sources if you’re outdoors and away from a refrigerator to keep raw meat at a proper temperature before cooking.
“If you’re going on a camping trip, or if you’re going to the lake for the day, or if you’re going somewhere and taking food with you and obviously are going to go past that two-hour or one-hour time frame for just removing it from your home, a cooler is a great option. Lots of cold sources, so as much as you can, or whatever you can do to keep that food cold is going to help keep your food safe. So, if you’re going for a day, a great option is a big cooler with cold sources. You take a smaller lunch box with some frozen packs, or you can freeze water bottles, or juice boxes, or things like that as an extra cold source. But keeping your food cold in those types of environments, where a cooler, lunch box, or insulated bag are all great options.”
