Memorial Day is the unofficial start to summer, meaning the BBQ grills are firing up, and eating outdoors is happening more often.
Meridan Zerner is an award-winning Registered Dietitian Nutritionist at the Cooper Clinic with over 30 years of experience in the field of health and wellness.
Meridan says for some these tips might be a good refresher.
Her number one tip is to not cross-contaminate. She says oftentimes when grilling, the cook might have one plate full of uncooked meat. She says do not place the cooked food back on that same plate, bring a second clean plate to place cooked foods on from the grill.
Second, she highly recommends a food thermometer. She says the minimum internal temperature for different meats does vary and to not chance it as undercooked meat can cause some pretty serious consequences. She says a person can start to develop symptoms of food poisoning as soon as 30 minutes after consumption up to two days later.
Something she says many don't think about with barbeque is that the charring on the meat is carcinogenic. However, a way to reduce the risk is by marinating meat or using a rub which can buffer the risk by 70%.
Next tip: Always watch the time. Make sure to bring a watch or clock when eating outdoors. There is a time window when bacteria start to grow. That time frame is usually about two hours or from 40 degrees to 140 degrees. However, in the hot Texas weather she says if it's 90 degrees above, you only have about a one-hour window to have food out. She recommends planning on bringing two coolers - One for drinks and one for food.
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