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

If you're barbecuing for lots of people, you could cook meat indoors and finish it off on the barbecue for added flavour.

Remember, when you reheat food on the barbecue, always make sure it's piping hot all the way through before serving.

Also:
Wait until the charcoal is glowing red, with a powdery grey surface, before you start to cook.

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 piping hot.

Don't assume that if meat is charred on the outside that it will be cooked properly on the inside.

Picnics
When you're going on a picnic, don't take food out of the fridge until the last minute and use a cool bag to keep it chilled until you're ready to eat. It's especially important to keep the following foods cool:

Food containing cream, such as trifle, cream cakes and desserts

Meat and poultry

Remember to wash fruit and salad vegetables thoroughly before you set off. Always try to wash your hands before eating but, if you can't, you could use antiseptic hand wipes instead.

When you're eating outdoors you should also remember to keep food covered whenever possible – this is to protect it from insects, birds and pets, which can carry bacteria.

Food Poisoning
Many people have had first-hand experience of how unpleasant food poisoning can be, even for a fit and healthy person. And sometimes food poisoning can cause serious illness.

What are the symptoms?
The symptoms of food poisoning can vary, depending on what has caused it.

Common symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhoea, and sometimes fever.

Occasionally, food poisoning can be very serious and even cause death. So it’s important to prevent food poisoning with good food hygiene.

What should I do?
There are three main things to consider when you have food poisoning:

Rehydration – drink plenty of fluids and perhaps use rehydration powders available from pharmacies

Medical assistance – if you are concerned about your health or the health of someone else, contact NHS Direct (0845 4647) or your GP for advice (especially in the case of pregnant women, elderly people, children and people who are already ill).

Reporting – if you think that your illness was caused by food prepared outside the home, report the incident to your local environmental health service

Why is it important to report food poisoning?
If you think your illness has been caused by food from a restaurant or other food business, the local environmental health department needs to know so it can investigate the business in question. If the environmental health officers find a problem with the business's food hygiene practices, and get the business to improve them, this could help prevent other people suffering from food poisoning.