Food, friends, and family are staples of our Fourth of July celebrations and a local nutrition educator is encouraging food safety this week.

Caitlin Mellendorf is a nutrition educator at the University of Illinois of Extension in DeWitt, Macon, and Piatt Counties. She says keeping hot foods hot and cold foods cold is instrumental in a food-safe holiday gathering.

Food preparation is also instrumental in a food-safe holiday. Mellendorf encourages keeping those surfaces you're preparing food on clean, using different utensils when preparing meats, and cleaning that grill surface between cooks.

The final tip from Mellendorf is to get those foods cooked to their appropriate internal temperatures. She says the most accurate way to make sure food is ready to eat is a food thermometer.

The Fourth of July can bring out some great meals thanks to those fresh fruits and vegetables now in season. 

Mellendorf encourages a visit to the Extension website, extension.illinois.edu or the USDA's Meat and Poultry Hotline number is 888-MPHOTLINE - 888-674-6854. You can also go online to Ask.usda.gov.