Grill safely this season

Thinking about that slab of tuna just about makes Che Perez's stomach turn. The 40-year-old Web designer remembers a scorching July day many summers ago and a barbecue at his cousin's house.

The cookout was more like ground zero for gastrointestinal distress.

"It was a good 20-minute drive to the house, and even with the air conditioner on, the sun was beating down on my fresh tuna," says Perez. "When I got there, I just threw the fish on the barbecue and cooked it medium, or medium-rare. It was delicious, but about 30 minutes later I started throwing up violently."

We'll spare the rest of the gory details, but let's just say Perez learned his lesson: Keep your fresh fish on ice when driving to a cookout.

These sorts of food-safety reminders are in order as the outdoor grilling season kicks into gear. Perez of Sacramento, Calif., is the kind of guy who grills two to three days a week, rain or shine.

But you've got to be careful behind that barbecue grill or in the kitchen. Food-safety experts have found that one in four people gets sick each year from a foodborne illness. The effects sometimes can turn deadly. Ingest a strain of E. coli 0157:H7, found in contaminated produce, ground beef and other animal products, and the result could be kidney failure or death.

The good news: Properly handling and cooking food can significantly reduce the risk of catching some nasty foodborne illness, along with keeping pesticides and chemicals off our plates.

Don't expect to see rare meat when Christine Bruhn bites into a hamburger. She researches food safety and consumer issues at the University of California-Davis' department of food science and technology, and she knows it doesn't take much undercooked ground beef to make a person seriously sick.

"Just 10 cells of E. coli can send a person to the hospital," says Bruhn.

Here are some tips to keep in mind during your cookouts:

--Be careful of cross-contamination: "Some people use the same plate to carry both the raw and cooked (food). People might rinse the plate, but those bacteria are still there. Water is not enough. You need a clean plate."

Same goes for that burger-flipping spatula. Don't risk using it to load raw burgers and then to remove the cooked ones. Keep two handy or thoroughly clean the one that has touched the raw meat.

--Don't use color as a guideline for doneness: "Many believe that meat is done when it turns brown. Color is not an adequate indicator of the thoroughness of cooking. One out of four burgers turn brown before they reach 160 degrees, which is the recommended temperature."

--Invest in a cooking thermometer and use it: "Most people don't want to take the temperature of a hamburger because they think it's too much work. My graduate student is doing a project watching people prepare burgers, and none of them used a thermometer. They say, 'Oh, it's ready,' but a third of the burgers had not reached the proper temperature."

--Rare steak is OK, but make sure the meat's surface is seared: "Steak is different than ground beef. With steak, the bacteria is on the surface and on the edges. So if you just sear it, you're (killing) the bacteria. With ground beef, since it's all ground and mixed up, what used to be on the surface is now on the inside."

--Eat charred food in moderation: "Grilled veggies are so yummy and you get some of those burned parts that taste so good. But eating too much charred food is bad. Some chemicals, eaten in sufficient quantities, can be carcinogenic. That's still eating it a lot, every day. A little charring on burgers is OK. The buildup will be low and you will naturally remove those toxins."

Internal temperatures

Ground meat and meat mixtures:

--Beef, pork, veal, lamb: 160 degrees.

--Turkey, chicken: 165 degrees.

Fresh beef, veal, lamb:

--Medium rare: 145 degrees.

--Medium: 160 degrees.

--Well-done: 170 degrees.

Poultry:

--Poultry, whole: 165 degrees.

--Poultry breasts: 165 degrees.

--Stuffing (cooked alone or in bird): 165 degrees.

Fresh pork:

--Medium: 160 degrees.

--Well-done: 170 degrees.

Produce

It's also farmers market season. Spring fruits and vegetables are abundant, but for all the sweet and crunchy goodness, it's important to keep this bounty clean.

Outbreaks of E. coli have been traced to spinach and green onions. Salmonella can corrupt melons. And don't forget that pesticides and other chemicals are sometimes found on produce. But this doesn't mean you have to turn into a germophobe. Heed some simple tips from James Gorny, a food-safety expert with UC-Davis' department of plant sciences, and your greens will be good to go.

--Keep your fruits and veggies clean: "All produce should be thoroughly washed. It can wash off dirt or residue, and pesticides if they're present."

--Wash produce under running water instead of soaking: "We found that loosens up contaminants better. Wash with cold, clean water. Don't use commercial detergents."

--Some prepackaged produce needs to be washed: "Most bagged salads have been triple washed and you don't need to wash them again. Heads of romaine lettuce or hearts that come in bags, those are raw agricultural products and need to be washed thoroughly."

--Separate produce from other food items in the fridge.

--Store fruits and vegetables in a clean refrigerator at 40 degrees or below, with some exceptions: Tomatoes and bananas should be stored at room temperature.