Keeping food safety in mind as grilling season begins

A registered dietitian breaks down tips to keep in mind as you fire up the grill for the summer.

Transcript

00:00 For many, Memorial Day weekend is the first of the outdoor cookouts and barbecues.

00:05 For me, it's definitely much more than that.

00:07 I go all year round.

00:09 However, there's always the question of how to keep your food safe when cooking on the

00:12 grill.

00:13 And our friend Ariella Scalise got some tips from a registered dietitian with the Cleveland

00:17 Clinic.

00:18 I'm so into food safety and I get really freaked out sometimes, especially when it comes to

00:24 raw meat, poultry, seafood.

00:26 A lot of people are going to be probably throwing that on the grill, but how do you make sure

00:29 those temperatures stay safe when you're transferring it and getting it ready?

00:33 Sure.

00:35 The first thing you always want to keep in mind is hand washing.

00:38 Hand washing is extremely important.

00:40 You want to wash your hands before and after touching any raw meat.

00:45 And you want to make sure you wash those utensils and cutting boards really well.

00:50 You don't want to cross-contaminate, so you want to stick to the same utensils for the

00:55 meat and the same cutting board.

00:58 So you really don't want to put any other food or vegetables on.

01:01 So that would be the first step for sure.

01:05 That is excellent.

01:06 I have a cutting board at home that is just for raw meat.

01:09 I get so freaked out, so it's good to probably have those utensils and kind of keep them

01:13 all separated.

01:14 And then when you're cooking it, I think there's a happy medium of you don't want to overcook

01:18 the meat, right?

01:19 But you want to make sure it reaches a good temperature that it's safe to eat.

01:22 Sure.

01:23 And so ideally using a thermometer would be the best if you have that resource to you.

01:29 But another thing is keeping in mind is avoiding charring the meat.

01:32 So overcooked charred meat can produce cancer-causing chemicals.

01:38 So we really want to avoid overcooking as well.

01:40 Julia Zupano, registered dietician with the Cleveland Clinic Center for Human Nutrition.

01:45 Thank you so much for joining us and we hope you have a safe Memorial Day weekend.

01:48 Thanks.

01:49 You too.

01:50 [MUSIC PLAYING]