While preparing for a feast on the grill this Labor Day weekend, take the time to properly and safely cook your meat products and store your leftovers in a refrigerator as quickly as possible. Washington County Environmental Health Specialist Jason Taylor warns that consuming under cooked meat could infect individuals with E. coli, salmonella, or campylobacter which can cause stomach and intestinal issues, food poisoning, vomiting, and diarrhea. Taylor explains storing leftovers in a refrigerator right after a meal is the best way to enjoy that food later, “After you’ve cooked your products, the best thing is to get whatever you’re not going to consume at that meal to get it into the refrigerator and start the cooling process. In the refrigerator you’ll want to keep the lid off of it until it’s cool. You want to wait 12 hours or so before you put a lid on it. Once you put it in your refrigerator you want to get it to 41 degrees within six hours. The first two hours is very critical to get it down below 70 degrees and then you have four hours to get it down to 41 degrees so your leftovers are safe to eat at a later time.” Taylor says leftovers need to be eaten within seven days to avoid food borne illnesses. If a week has passed, leftover food should be tossed out.