Food safety is commonsense. But if you’re entertaining a crowd it’s easy to forget the basics.

And as we head into the BBQ season, the combination of warm summer temperatures and cooking food outdoors create ideal conditions for bugs to thrive on food and utensils. Follow these tips to keep your family and friends food safe this summer.

Prepare

• Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water and then dry them with a clean dry towel or paper towel before and after handling food.
• Use separate cutting boards and utensils for raw meats and ready-to-eat foods. Wash all these thoroughly with hot soapy water after use.
• Defrost meat completely before cooking – this helps it to cook right through. Defrost slowly in the fridge over a couple of days (don’t defrost on the kitchen bench).
• Free up fridge space for food. Drinks, pickles, jams and other acidic condiments don’t require refrigeration to remain safe. Keep drinks cold in a chilly bin or buckets with ice. This also means the fridge gets opened less often and stays cooler.
• If you cook large amounts of food in advance, divide it into smaller portions or shallow containers. Once it’s stopped steaming, cover it and put in the fridge.
• Don’t overcrowd your fridge: overcrowding won’t allow the cold air to circulate freely around the food. 
• Preparing food ahead of time? Then make sure the fridge is still operating at between 2 and 4°C – even though you’ve loaded in all that extra food.

Cook and serve

• Cook meat properly. Minced meat and sausages should be cooked right through. (Pre-cook minced meat, sausages and poultry before barbecuing.)
• Keep food hot (60°C) until it’s time to eat.
• Keep perishable nibbles (like dips and soft cheeses) in a cool spot. And don’t leave them out for too long.
• Rather than loading up the table, it’s better to serve food in small amounts. Then you can replace the nearly-empty serving dishes with freshly-filled ones.

After the party

• Throw out perishable food that you have left at room temperature for more than two hours.
• Refrigerate leftovers as soon as possible (but make sure they’ve stopped steaming). Use them within a few days.
• Reheat leftovers until they’re steaming hot all the way through. 

Foodsafe week 2009

Foodsafe week runs from November 9 to 15. This year you have the chance to win a great summer barbecue prize pack. One hundred prizes are on offer, with a total prize pool valued at $16,000. Enter online at www.foodsafe.org.nz during November. 

More from consumer.org.nz

• Food safety quiz - test your food safety knowledge with our quick quiz

Got a question or comment on this topic? Share your views and experiences with other Consumer members...