BBQ Safety: Carbon Monoxide, Cooking and Cross-Contamination

Barbecues combine the two things that most reliably cause food poisoning — meat cooked by eye, outdoors, away from a fridge — with an open fire that people stand around holding drinks. A little planning removes nearly all of the risk.

1. Carbon monoxide: the one that actually kills

This deserves the top spot because it is the risk people genuinely do not know about.

A charcoal barbecue produces carbon monoxide as it burns — and continues to produce it while it cools, long after the flames are gone. Carbon monoxide has no smell, no taste and no colour, and the early symptoms are easy to mistake for too much sun or too much beer.

The pattern that should alarm you: several people in the same enclosed space feeling unwell at the same time, and better when they go outside. Get everyone into fresh air and call 999.

The rules:

• Never use a barbecue indoors, in a tent, awning, caravan or campervan.
• Never bring one inside afterwards to cool down or to keep warm. This is how the fatalities happen.
• Let it cool completely outside, well away from anything flammable, before disposing of the ashes.
• The same applies to disposable barbecues, which people are most likely to take into a tent porch.

2. Cook it through

Burgers, sausages, kebabs, chicken and pork must be cooked all the way through. A burger is not a steak: mincing moves surface bacteria into the middle, which is why “rare” is fine for a whole steak and not for a burger.

Charring the outside proves nothing. Barbecue heat is fierce and uneven, and a blackened sausage can be raw in the centre — which is why pre-cooking higher-risk items indoors and finishing them on the barbecue is a good technique rather than a cheat. If you do that, take them straight from oven to barbecue and finish immediately.

The other practical fix: wait for the coals. Cooking over flames chars the outside before the middle is anywhere near done. Coals with a grey ash coating give even heat.

3. Keep raw and cooked apart

This is where most barbecue food poisoning actually comes from, and it is entirely avoidable:

• Separate tongs for raw and cooked. Two pairs, visibly different.
• Never put cooked food back on the plate the raw meat came off.
• Do not baste cooked meat with the marinade the raw meat sat in, unless it has been boiled first.
• Wash hands after handling raw meat, and keep a way to do that near the barbecue — not through the kitchen and past the salad.
• Watch where the raw platter goes down. On the table next to the bread is how it spreads.

4. Keep it cold until it goes on

Raw meat should stay in the fridge or a cool box until the moment it is cooked, not sitting in the sun in a bowl next to the grill. The same goes for salads, dips, coleslaw and anything with mayonnaise — put out small amounts and refill from the fridge.

On a hot day, chilled food should not be sitting out for hours. If in doubt, bin it. A cool box with ice packs is a cheap solution to most of this.

5. Fire and burns

• Site it on a flat, stable surface, away from fences, sheds, trees and anything overhanging.
• Someone attends it at all times, particularly with children or pets around. Agree a no-go zone and mean it.
• Never use petrol, paraffin or any accelerant. Use proper firelighters or a chimney starter.
• Gas barbecues: check the hose and connections for leaks before lighting, turn the gas off at the cylinder first when finishing, and change cylinders outdoors.
• Keep water or sand nearby.
• Disposable barbecues get extremely hot underneath and stay hot for hours — never place one directly on grass, decking or a plastic table.
• Drinking and lighting fires is a combination worth thinking about before, not during.

If someone gets burned

Cool the burn under cool running water for 20 minutes — not ten, and not ice, butter or cream. Then lay cling film over it (laid on, not wrapped around). Remove jewellery and clothing near the burn unless it is stuck. Do not burst blisters.

Go to A&E or call 999 if the burn is large or deep, on the face, hands, feet, genitals or over a joint, if it goes all the way round a limb, or if it was caused by chemicals or electricity.

More corrections along these lines: six dangerous first aid myths.

Catering at an event?

If you are cooking for the public rather than for friends — a fete, a festival, a work event — you are a food business, and the training duty in Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 applies, along with temperature control and allergen information. See do I need a Level 2 food hygiene certificate?

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Frequently asked questions

Is it safe to bring a cooling barbecue inside?

No, never. A barbecue continues to give off carbon monoxide as it cools, and the gas is odourless and colourless. People have died after bringing a barbecue into a tent, caravan or house to keep warm.

How do I know barbecue meat is cooked?

Aim for a core temperature of 70°C for two minutes. Without a thermometer, cut into the thickest part and check it is steaming hot, that there is no pink meat and that the juices run clear. Charring on the outside is not evidence that the middle is cooked.

Can I cook burgers rare on a barbecue?

No. Mincing moves bacteria from the surface into the middle of a burger, so burgers, sausages and kebabs must be cooked all the way through — unlike a whole steak, where only the surface has been exposed.

Is it OK to pre-cook meat before barbecuing?

Yes, and for higher-risk items like chicken and sausages it is a sensible technique. Take them straight from the oven to the barbecue and finish them immediately rather than letting them stand.

Do I need separate tongs for raw and cooked meat?

Yes. Using the same tongs or plate for raw and cooked food is the most common cause of barbecue food poisoning, and it is the easiest one to eliminate.

How long should you cool a barbecue burn under water?

Twenty minutes under cool running water, as soon as possible. Do not use ice, butter or creams. Cover with cling film laid over the burn, and seek medical help for anything large, deep, or on the face, hands or joints.

What are the signs of carbon monoxide poisoning?

Headache, dizziness, nausea, tiredness, confusion and breathlessness — all easily mistaken for sun, alcohol or a long day. The warning pattern is several people in the same enclosed space feeling unwell at once, and improving when they go outside.

Are disposable barbecues more dangerous?

They carry the same carbon monoxide risk and are the ones most likely to be taken into a tent porch. They also get extremely hot underneath and stay hot for hours, so never place one on grass, decking or a plastic table.

Should I cook over flames or coals?

Wait for the coals to develop a grey ash coating. Cooking over flames chars the outside long before the middle is cooked, which is exactly how undercooked meat ends up looking done.

Enjoy it

None of this needs to make the day less fun. If you cater commercially and need your team trained, call 0845 838 4643 or use the enquiry form on this page.

Cooking for customers rather than friends? Our food safety courses cover the same ground formally, and what is HACCP explains the system an inspector expects to see.