When you're barbecuing, the biggest risk of food poisoning is from raw and undercooked meat. This is a potential source of a number of food poisoning bacteria.

Bacteria that cause food poisoning can be killed by thorough cooking and good food hygiene.

Follow the advice below and have a happy, safe BBQ!

Always make sure you cook chicken, pork, burgers, sausages and kebabs until they're steaming hot all the way through, none of the meat is pink and any juices run clear.

Also:

• Make sure frozen food is properly thawed before you cook it.
• Turn the food regularly, and move it around the barbecue, to cook it evenly.
• Check that the centre of the food is steaming hot.
• Don't assume that if meat is charred on the outside that it will be cooked properly on the inside.

Raw meat can contain food poisoning bacteria. So if raw meat comes into contact with food that is already cooked or ready to eat, the bacteria can get onto that food. Bacteria can also transfer onto food from your hands, chopping board, knife or tongs. This is called cross-contamination. You can prevent it by doing the following things.

• Always wash and dry your hands thoroughly after handling raw meat
• Keep raw and cooked foods separate and use different plates and utensils for them
• Never put cooked food on a plate or surface that has been used for raw meat
• Keep raw meat in a sealed container away from ready-to-eat foods, such as burger buns and salads
• Don't put raw meat products next to cooked or partially cooked meat on the barbecue
• Don't add sauce or marinade to cooked food if it has already been used with raw meat
• Keep salads, cheeses and dips in the fridge until the last minute

Eating out at a friends BBQ

If you are not sure how a food has been prepared, stored, cooked or how long it has been left out (in the sun or out of the fridge) then don't eat it. Although BBQ's are quite safe during pregnancy the storage, preparation and cooking of foods can be very high risk if not carried out safely. If you are not sure of your friend/family members' methods it would be best to avoid the high risk foods and stick to safer foods e.g. freshly prepared, washed salad, couscous, potatoes, safe cheeses, breads and pre-packed, date stamped cooked meats.