This section gives some information on storing fresh meat, freezing meat, thawing, cooking and re-thawing. Your health and safety are paramount, so we give the following information purely to assist. This data is not exhaustive, so if you need further information on any of these topics please contact the Food Standards Agency who are most helpful.

Fresh meat

The meat from The Devon Meat Company normally comes vacuum packed. Should any of the airtight seal be broken on arrival, please use the meat same day or contact us for advice. If the meat is to be used fresh it should be put into a fridge and kept below a temperature of 8 degrees centigrade (or better still 5 degrees) until used. It should not be kept for longer than 3 - 5 days before use, assuming it is still in its unopened vacuum pack. Once taken out of the vacuum pack it should be cooked and used that day. Minced meat of any form - mince, beef burgers, sausages, cobbles etc should be used the within 24 hours or frozen down until needed, while being kept in a fridge the whole time before used / frozen - see below for further advice. The reason is that meat contamination is most likely to occur on the surface of meat when exposed to a warm environment - e.g. anywhere (e.g. your kitchen) at normal temperatures. Minced meat of any type has a massive surface area compared to un-cut meat, and can therefore become contaminated more easily - hence these guidelines.

Frozen meat

This should be put into a freezer as soon as it arrives, and kept below -10 degrees centigrade. We strongly recommend that customers have a thermometer for their fridge and freezers. Opening and closing fridges and freezers can dramatically reduce the temperature - if you have to do so, run the device slightly cooler such that the temperatures stay below the recommended levels - the instructions with the device should be read and followed in this and other respects

Thawing meat

When defrosting frozen foods, it's best to plan ahead and thaw food in the refrigerator where food will remain safe, at or below a constant temperature of 8 degrees centigrade. As soon as food begins to defrost and become warmer than 8 degrees, any bacteria that may have been present before freezing can begin to multiply. It is not safe to thaw meat on the countertop at room temperature as this allows dangerous bacteria to grow in just two hours, or 1 hour in high summer heat!

To thaw mince or steaks, which tend to be in thin flat packs of meat, then placing the unopened packet straight into luke warm water from the freezer for a few minutes immediately prior to cooking works well.

BBQs

Barbecuing is a fantastic opportunity to enjoy yourselves and eat excellent food. It is, however a source of occasional illness when proper guidelines are not followed. It is particularly important to ensure that burgers and similar minced meat products are thoroughly cooked so that they are piping hot throughout. Eating undercooked burgers which are rare in the middle may be dangerous. With barbecues the cooking process is variable and difficult to control which means it is absolutely vital to ensure that burgers are thoroughly cooked so that they are piping hot throughout. Use a BBQ thermometer if you can, and ensure you follow the instructions on it to get the minimum right temperature for the finished product.

According to the Department of Health, " Minced meat and minced meat products including burgers should be cooked to a minimum temperature of 70 degrees centigrade for two minutes or equivalent. The absence of pink meat in a burger after cooking is not, in itself, a guarantee that the burger has been adequately cooked, but despite its limitations it may provide an additional safety check for consumers." It is therefore recommended to cook burgers until the juices run clear and there are no pink bits inside (e.g. when a burger contains only beef and no added salt) so long as the meat also achieves a minimum temperature of 70 degrees centigrade for two minutes or equivalent. "Caterers must ensure that their procedures achieve this and they should take into account the type of cooking equipment, its operating temperature, the temperature of the meat at the start of cooking, its thickness and any other relevant factors."

For a leaflet on BBQ cooking try downloading from the Food Standards Agency - click here