To celebrate America's independence, many people choose to cook, grill, barbecue and otherwise enjoy food on the Fourth of July.
Along with this however can come dreaded food-borne illnesses that keep you down.
To combat this, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued some safety tips for how to properly prepare food.
The easiest way to prevent the spread of bacteria is to wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds. You should wash your hands immediately after handling raw meats and poultry to avoid cross-contamination.
All food should be cooked to the appropriate temperatures. Beef, pork, lamb, veal and fish should reach 145 degrees, ground beef needs to reach 160 degrees and poultry should be at 165 degrees.
Food should not be left outside for over two hours if the temperature is 90 degrees or cooler. For hotter temperatures that time period goes down to one hour.
If your food sits out longer than that, it should be thrown out to avoid bacteria that causes food-borne illnesses.