--- title: "Public health issues warning to barbecuers: Home-cooked meals are the riskiest" date: 2006-08-16T11:16:06-07:00 author: Bill Marler canonical_url: "https://marlerclark.com/news_events/public-health-issues-warning-to-barbecuers-homecooked-meals-are-the-riskiest" section: News --- [All News](/news_events) / [Outbreaks](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/outbreaks) / # Public health issues warning to barbecuers: Home-cooked meals are the riskiest ![](http://www.ecoliblog.com/Grilling.jpg) With only a few weeks remaining in barbecue season, local public health officials are urging people to cook hamburger properly and clean or discard anything that has come into contact with raw meat. According to The Record, the reason for the warning is a sudden increase in reported food poisoning cases, the majority of which resulted from improperly cooked or contaminated hamburger meat prepared at home, which can cause [E. coli](http://www.about-ecoli.com/) poisoning. The province saw 44 cases last month, compared to only 19 infections in July of last year, with 86 per cent of this July’s cases coming from those who grill their own burgers. According to Dr. Reno Proulx, consulting doctor with the public health agency in the Eastern Townships, most people know to cook their meat properly because of extensive public awareness campaigns on the issue. Infections this year are rising because people are using the same plates and utensils to handle raw and cooked meat, without washing them in between. "People are putting their cooked hamburgers on the same plate as the raw hamburger meat. With juices from the raw meat leftover, the cooked hamburger then becomes contaminated," said Dr. Proulx. It also seems that people are also forgetting to take the most basic precaution – hand-washing. "Forty-five per cent of those infected in July were people who handled the raw meat directly," said Dr. Proulx, meaning those who cook and then do not wash their hands before eating, make up a large proportion of the infections reported this year. ### Other E. coli Lawsuits [Raw Farms linked to another Raw Milk Cheese E.coli Outbreak - 9 People sickened - Company refuses to recall product](https://marlerclark.com/raw-farms-linked-to-another-raw-milk-cheese-e-coli-outbreak-7-people-sickened) [10 with E. coli linked to Cheese](https://marlerclark.com/3-with-e-coli-linked-to-cheese) [Sycamore Pool in Chico California Contaminated with E.coli - Two teens in ICU](https://marlerclark.com/sycamore-pool-in-chico-california-contaminated-with-e-coli-two-teens-in-icu) [Deadly Nationwide E.coli Outbreak Linked to Grimmway Farms Organic Baby and Whole Carrots sickens 48](https://marlerclark.com/nationwide-e-coli-outbreak-linked-to-grimmway-farms-organic-baby-and-whole-carrots) [E. coli Outbreak 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The team at Marler Clark is here to answer all your questions. Find out if you’re eligible for a lawsuit, what questions to ask your doctor, and more. [ Get a free consultation ](https://marlerclark.com/contact) ##### Related Resources ###### [E. coli Food Poisoning](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/e-coli/e-coli-food-poisoning) What is E. coli and how does it cause food poisoning? Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a highly studied, common species of bacteria that belongs to the family Enterobacteriaceae, so... ###### [E. coli O157:H7](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/e-coli/e-coli-o157h7) E. coli O157:H7 is a foodborne pathogen that causes food poisoning. E. coli O157:H7 is the most commonly identified and the most notorious Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) serotype in... ###### [Non-O157 STEC](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/e-coli/non-o157-stec) Non-O157 Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli can also cause food poisoning. 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