When you're making food for large numbers of people it's
especially important to keep food safe. Here are some practical
tips.
Try to plan ahead. If you can prepare food in advance, this
should help to reduce the pressure.
Keep foods out of the fridge for the shortest time possible.
If you're short of space in the fridge, take out wine and beer,
and put it somewhere cold, such as the cellar or garage, or in
buckets of ice.
Even if people are waiting to eat, don't reduce cooking
times.
Always make sure food is properly cooked before you serve
it.
Bear in mind that even if food looks done on the outside it is
not always cooked in the middle. To be sure that meat is safe
to eat check that it's piping hot all the way through and none of
the meat is pink.
Barbecued food
How can I make sure that barbecued food is properly
cooked?
Wait until the charcoal is glowing red, with a powdery grey
surface, before you start to cook,
Make sure frozen food is properly thawed before you start to
cook it
Turn the food regularly to cook it evenly - it is safer to
cook food over a steady heat.
Check that the food is piping hot all the way through
Make sure there isn't any pink meat left in poultry, pork,
burgers, sausages and kebabs, and that any juices run clear.
If you are cooking for lots of people you could cook the meat
indoors in the oven and finish it off on the BBQ - but make sure
its piping hot right through.
Why should I keep raw meat away from other food?
Raw meat can contain food poisoning bacteria. If raw meat
touches food that has already been cooked or is ready to eat (eg
salad or burger buns), then the bacteria can spread onto that
food.
Anything that touches raw meat could carry the bacteria to other
food. Stop the bacteria spreading by:
Stop raw meat from touching or dripping onto other food,
Wash your hands thoroughly after handling raw meat,
Use sepatate utensils for raw and cooked meat,
Never put cooked food on a plate or surface that has been used
for raw meat (unless its been washed thoroughly),
Don't put raw meat products next to cooked or partially cooked
meat on the BBQ,
Don't add sauce or marinade to cooked food if it has already
been used with raw meat.