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Toss it on the barby … carefully

07/29/2004

A new survey conducted by the American Dietetic Assn. and the ConAgra Foods Foundation found many grillers take a vacation from safe food handling when the summer entertaining season rolls around. In fact, when asked to grade themselves on how safely they handle food when grilling, 63 percent of grillers gave themselves a B or worse.

                                                          
According to the survey, nearly half of all Americans typically grill two or more different kinds of meat at one time. And one in four expects to grill a greater variety of meats this year compared to last year, with a majority (55 percent) citing a need to accommodate different taste/dietary preferences of family members as the main reason why.

While traditional fare such as hamburgers (88 percent), steak (80 percent), chicken (77 percent) and hot dogs/brats (72 percent) continue to top grills regularly, an adventurous few also will cook up more imaginative fare such as fajitas/quesadillas (5 percent), bison (2 percent) and pizza (2 percent). But beware: Nearly 70 percent of grillers don't know if foods are cooked properly before serving them.  See www.homefoodsafety.org.