05/24/19 – 1:20 P.M.

With Memorial Day Weekend upon us, we reached out to Hancock Public Health to talk about food safety tips. Registered Sanitarian Heidi Phillips said that you want to avoid cross-contaminating cooked food with raw food. This includes when you use a marinade…

She added that you’ll want to use a clean plate when transporting food from the grill. If you use the same plate you used to get the food to the grill, you run the risk of contaminating your food with food-borne illnesses like E. Coli and salmonella.

Phillips added that temperature plays an important part in good safety as well. You want to make sure you’re beef and chicken is cooked to an appropriate temperature to kill off any bacteria.

Phillips said you’ll want to cook beef to around 155 degrees Fahrenheit and chicken to around 165 degrees. She added that you’ll also want to keep an eye on cold foods like potato and pasta salads. She said that they could be a risk if they get too warm.

You can catch the full interview below.