A couple of weeks ago, we talked a little bit about how a clean grill is very important in preventing food poisoning at your summer cookouts. With Memorial Day fast approaching—the holiday that many observe as the semi-official start of summer—more and more people will be hosting barbecues and cooking out on the grill again. While a clean grill is a great start, there are other steps that you should be taking to ensure that your food is safe to eat.

Guidelines for Safe Grilling

Whether you are having dozens of people over for a party or simply preparing dinner for your family, it is critical to handle meat, chicken, and seafood properly, or you run the risk of making people very sick. With this in mind, let’s take a look at some tips from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the safe handling of grilled proteins.

Separate raw proteins – Food safety begins at the grocery store. When you are shopping, be sure to grab meat or seafood last so that products can stay refrigerated longer. Then, separate them from the other items in your cart and bags. It is also a good idea to put raw meat or poultry in individual bags to prevent cross-contamination.

All over the world, people fall ill because of the food they eat. Hundreds of millions of people are victims of food-borne diseases every year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In Illinois, victims of food poisoning can file lawsuits against the parties responsible in order to seek compensation for their losses.

If you look at the newspaper these days, it will be filled with food poisoning cases. Such cases range from restaurant negligence to contamination in packaged food items on grocery store shelves. In the America alone, 76 million food poisoning illnesses and 5,000 deaths are reported a year.

What Causes Food Poisoning?

Personal injury is not always the result of fractured bones or brain damage; a person can suffer from food poisoning, as well, as these cases often result from someone's negligence. Some food poisoning cases result in a minimal personal injury, but there are certain food-borne bacteria that can cause serious damage to unsuspecting victims, leaving them with hefty medical bills and lost wages from time off work spent in recovery.

In today's economy, many companies are looking to maximize profits with minimal operational costs involved. Unfortunately, such a behavior can constitute negligence when it compromises the well-being of customers. When large food retail chains, grocery stores, food manufacturers and farmers ignore the potential damage their wrongdoing will have on others in order make money, these entities can be held accountable for their actions in a court of law. Victims of food poisoning are encouraged to pursue compensation from the at-fault parties with the help of a experienced personal injury attorney.

Common Causes of Food Contamination

Spring is here, and for many people in Illinois and across the United States, that means it is time to venture outdoors again after a long winter in hibernation. As flowers bloom and trees regrow their leaves, enjoying a picnic in a park can be a relaxing way to welcome warm spring weather.

Your picnic will not be much fun if you or somebody else who attended falls ill with food poisoning in the days that follow. As the picnic planner, you can take steps to protect yourself and your guests from becoming ill after eating from your picnic basket. The following tips will help you keep food out of the danger zone and prevent cross-contamination.

Keep Everything Separated

In a recent blog post, we talked about the recent multi-state Salmonella outbreak that was linked to raw bean sprouts served at Jimmy John's restaurants in Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Currently, the outbreak is being investigated by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Illinois Department of Public Health, and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

When a food poisoning outbreak is linked to a specific food retailer or distributor, the responsible party may be required to take certain steps, such as recalling the contaminated product, to protect consumers from further illness. In other cases, the responsible party voluntarily makes changes and takes precautions to eliminate the chance of further illnesses occurring because of their product. A recent example of a retailer taking steps to protect its consumers is Chipotle's publicized changes to their food handling measures after it was linked to an E.Coli outbreak.

Jimmy John's Measures to Reduce Further Illnesses