Poll reveals more than a quarter in NI have had a barbeque cooking catastrophe

New safefood research has revealed that over a quarter (27%) of home cooks in Northern Ireland have admitted serving up a barbeque cooking catastrophe - with one in 10 disclosing that guests had gotten sick after eating food that wasn’t cooked properly.
By Jonathan McCambridge
Published 9th Jul 2020, 10:14 BST
The poll showed that half of people (52%) are at risk of getting sick from eating burgersThe poll showed that half of people (52%) are at risk of getting sick from eating burgers
The poll showed that half of people (52%) are at risk of getting sick from eating burgers

The poll of 500 adults across Northern Ireland (carried out in June 2020) also uncovered that over half of people (52%) are at risk of getting sick from eating burgers that are burnt on the outside, but still raw in the inside.

Other common barbeque blunders that caused havoc with people’s alfresco dining experience included the grill taking too long to heat up (25%), serving up too much food (20%) and setting fire to the grill (8%).

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The research was commissioned by safefood, the public body responsible for raising consumer awareness of issues relating to food safety and healthy eating across both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, to encourage people to follow good food safety habits when preparing and cooking food on the barbeque this July bank holiday weekend as part of its Well Done BBQ Burger campaign.

Dr Gary Kearney, Director of Food Safety at safefood, said: “The research has shown that many of us still lack the confidence when it comes to knowing how to properly cook meat & poultry, with almost half of respondents stating that the hardest part of cooking a barbeque is knowing when the meat is cooked thoroughly.

“Foods like burgers, chicken and sausages must be cooked thoroughly, and absolutely never served rare or pink in the middle as this can cause food poisoning. You know they are cooked when they’re piping hot all the way through, the juices run clear and there’s no pink meat left.”

The research also revealed that almost three-quarters of local barbeque goers (72%) voted a flavoursome burger as their favourite barbeque meat, proving a more popular choice than sausages (67%), chicken (57%) and steak (44%).

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When it comes to determining who wears the all-important BBQ King or Queen apron, while perceptions might lead us to believe that men dominate the barbeque, the research revealed that more women in Northern Ireland barbeque than men, but only slightly at 52%.

For more barbeque information visit: www.safefood.eu

Related topics:Northern IrelandRepublic of IrelandQueen