The summer grilling season is upon us and a local University of Illinois Extension Nutrition Educator is offering up yearly reminders to keep ourselves, our families, and guests safe.

Caitlin Mellendorf is a Nutrition Educator for the U of I Extension in DeWitt, Macon, and Piatt Counties and reminds us the challenge can be keeping surfaces and hands clean is the top priority when considering food safety.

Keeping surfaces clean from those cooking or cutting boards, utensils, and even any door handle or cabinet handle clean is vital. Mellendorf encourages utilizing help any time necessary if you need to go outside or open a cabinet door.

Last but most certainly not least is to make sure we are cooking those meats to proper temperatures by standards set by the USDA. Mellendorf recommends a food thermometer no matter how high-tech it is.

The U of I Extension is working to update its meat safety webpage but if you're interested in that resource or resources for grilling safety you can do a Google search for 'U of I Extension meat safety' or 'U of I Extension grilling safety'.