Food poisoning can be a risk when cooking outdoors, according to the Food Standards Agency. The agency also warned people that food hygiene risks may cause illnesses like campylobacter.

Researchers found that people in Britain indulge in risky hygiene mistakes at the grill and they are requested to pre-cook the food in the oven. About 94% of the people believed that they had at least one barbecue habit and that could prove to be dangerous.

The survey was done with 2,030 adults. Out of them, about 21% participants believed that they had been ill in the past because of eating something wrong. One-third of the total participants said that they did not check the food they were eating was properly cooked or not.

From the survey, researchers found that about 24% of the people who said they were main cook at barbecue, did not cook at home generally.

One out of five said that he did not use separate plates for cooked and raw meat. Over 50% of the people risked cross-contamination, as they use same tongs during the barbecue. Cross-contamination can cause campylobacter and about 280,000 people get food poising due it every year. The older people and children are most at risk.

There are some tips issued by the agency such as food should be pre-cooked before putting it on grill. Raw chicken should not be washed because it spreads germs around, disposable barbecues took longer to cook food and raw meat should also be stored and handled separately.

"Food poisoning is a real risk at barbecues and so we are reminding people to take good care of their families and friends by paying attention to simple food safety rules?", said Catherine Brown, the chief executive of FSA.