Safefood encourages people to use a meat thermometer and cook to at least 75°C to ensure that barbeque foods like burgers, chicken, sausages, and kebabs are fully cooked and safe to eat. Cooking meat properly kills the bacteria that cause food poisoning.
Safefood’s latest survey shows that while most people (84%) are concerned about food poisoning, the reasons people are put off using a meat thermometer include not knowing how to use it, being unsure what temperatures to look for or thinking it is a tool for professionals.
The appetite for improvement is clear, with over half (53%) saying that knowing meat is safely cooked would encourage them to use a meat thermometer and a promising one in three (36%) indicating they are very likely to purchase one in the future.
Using a meat thermometer is easy: take the meat off the heat, insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the meat, and ensure it reaches a core temperature of at least 75 degrees Celsius. If you don’t have a meat thermometer, take the meat off the heat, cut into it and follow the 3 checks – it should be piping hot, with no pink meat and the juices running clear.
The survey shows that only 16% of respondents use a meat thermometer when cooking burgers, 10% for sausages and 26% for chicken breasts. Whole chicken or turkey (55%) was the most common meat for which people used a thermometer, followed by whole cuts of beef or lamb (31%).
Check Safefood’s socials for “how to” videos on using a meat thermometer for different barbeque cuts over the coming weeks and go to safefood.net for advice on safe barbecue cooking.
