SAFETY

Fire safety

• Place the barbecue on level ground where it cannot wobble or tip over.

• Position the barbecue away from houses, sheds, fences and overhanging trees. A sheltered position will cut down the amount of smoke and embers blowing about.

• Keep pets and small children away from the barbecue to avoid accidents.

• Do not use any flammable liquids, other than purpose-made liquid firelighter, to try to speed up the ignition of the barbecue. Never use lighter fluid, petrol or alcohol.

• Have a bucket of water ready in case the fire gets out of control.

• Never leave a lit barbecue unattended.

• When you have finished cooking, push the coals away from the centre to speed up cooling. Remember that embers may still be hot even if they look like they’ve gone out. The cooled ash can be disposed of by turning it onto bare garden soil or into a plastic bag and then into the dustbin.

• Always store gas cylinders or bottles outside and protect them from direct sunlight and frost. It is not advisable to keep more spare cylinders than you need. Make sure to shut off the gas valves once you have finished cooking.

Food safety

• Store uncooked meat, poultry and fish in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator until 30 minutes before cooking. If there isn’t enough space in the fridge, invest in a cool box with ice packs so you can store the food outside.

• Always wash your hands thoroughly after handling raw meat, poultry or fish.

• Use one set of tools to transfer fresh foods to the barbecue, and another set for handling cooked food. Do not put raw and nearly-cooked food next to each other on the grill.

• To avoid food poisoning, always make sure that meat — in particular, chicken, turkey and sausages — is cooked through. The cooked meat should have no pink flesh, and the juices should run clear (not pink) when a skewer is inserted into the thickest part of the meat. You can buy special thermometers to test the internal temperature of larger pieces of meat, poultry or fish.

• If the marinade you are using for basting has been in contact with uncooked meat, poultry, fish or seafood, do not use it during the last few minutes of cooking otherwise any harmful bacteria may not be destroyed by the heat of the barbecue. The safest way is to reserve a portion of the marinade for basting before adding raw foods.