It’s almost barbecue season. Actually, I’ve been to a couple already. While waiting for my veggie burger to cook on the grill, I overheard something that made me nervous.

The hostess asked a guest if maybe a certain food (I can’t remember what) had been left out too long. The guest replied that due to the lack of mayonnaise, it should be fine. I was suspect. Having worked at Eastern Agency on Aging and around Meals for Me for a while, I’ve learned much about food safety.

With this conversation still fresh in my mind, and people all around me planning cookouts, I figured it’s time to speak with my own personal food-safety girl, Vicki Billings.

“Mayonnaise is not your enemy,” said Billings. “Everything can grow bacteria on it, and can be dangerous if allowed to get to room temperature. A potato salad even without mayonnaise would still be hazardous if allowed to warm to room temperature. I would not leave food out for more than [an] hour.”

One of the reasons for this is the contamination we bring to the table. As unappetizing as this sounds, it’s true. Our hands can be virtual hotbeds of germs and bacteria just waiting for a good party.

Billings has a solution.

“One of the best ways to prevent food poisoning is to wash your hands. A lot,” she said. “Whatever is on your hands is transferred to your food. You may watch the Food Channel on TV and not see this precaution as much as you should, but remember, it’s TV. If raw chicken or beef touches anything – like skin, vegetables, whatever – the bacteria from the meat is transferred. It’s just not safe.”

And while a younger person with a slight case of food poisoning may only feel sick for a couple of hours, an elderly person could die, said Billings.

“They can get dehydrated very quickly,” she said.

Now most people understand the danger of placing cooked meat on a platter that previously held raw meat, but some people think nothing of cross-contamination through unwashed hands or reused utensils, she added.

“And as hot food cools, or cold food warms, any bacteria that was not completely killed during cooking will have a prime breeding ground. Warm and moist places are bacterium paradise. Keep meat on the top rack of the grill and keep salads on ice,” said Billings.

“And when you’re at a party or barbecue, be careful. If it is supposed to be hot and isn’t – don’t eat it. If it is supposed to be cold and isn’t – don’t eat it. And if you don’t know where it came from, it’s best to bypass it,” she added.

Billings offers a few other tips:

. Get a food thermometer and cook burgers to 140 degrees for about 12 minutes.

. Inside the grocery store, shop the interior first and save the produce, dairy and frozen food outer area for last. If you live more than 15 minutes from the store, use a cooler for the trip home.

. Wash produce carefully and vigorously with water. I use a vegetable-based produce cleanser, which can be purchased at a health food store.

. Set your refrigerator at 36 degrees.

You may be tempted to smell an item to determine freshness, but resist the urge.

“Something doesn’t have to smell bad to be bad,” said Billings. “And clean is not the same thing as sanitized.”

Most of all, remember to keep hot food hot, cold food cold, wash your hands a lot and don’t touch your food too much, she added.

Gail Ward, director of nutrition at EAA, agrees.

“It’s really as simple as one, two, three. Hot. Cold. Wash.”

Carol Higgins is communications director at Eastern Agency on Aging. For information on EAA, call 941-2865 or log on www.eaaa.org.