safefood and Folk Wunderman Thompson have launched a new creative campaign to build new and safe habits among the public on the island of Ireland on the use of meat thermometers. With new statistics demonstrating that fewer than 2% of people follow three basic food safety checks to determine if meat is cooked, this campaign educates home cooks on the correct use of a meat thermometer to protect their family and friends from a barbecue disaster.

Insights revealed that those that did use meat thermometers were not using it correctly or often enough. With long-awaited entertaining returning to houses and gardens around the country Trust the Meat Thermometer campaign wants to convert home cooks into something more, making them not only safer but better cooks to deliver entertaining success. The campaign creative positions the meat thermometer as the best voice in the room that home cooks need to listen to when cooking meat.

Keith Lawler, creative director, Folk Wunderman Thompson said: ‘For many Irish BBQers, using a meat thermometer goes against everything we stand for, we judge how well our meat is cooked by instinct alone, often with terrible consequences. To change this behaviour we needed to do something very different, to create interest and standout. We positioned the Meat Thermometer as an unusual but helpful BBQ guest, reinforcing the usual checks of ‘juices running clear’ ‘piping hot’ and ‘doesn’t look pink’ with well-cooked logic.  When your meat reaches 75 degrees Celsius, it is perfectly and safely cooked. We needed to make 75 degrees synonymous with safely cooked meat and we hope to hear it exclaimed in back gardens up and down the country all summer long.

Dr Aileen McGloin, director of marketing and communications with safefood said: “With this campaign, we really wanted to engage barbeque cooks with a clear, memorable food safety message that also had a quirky, fun side. Foods like burgers, chicken, sausages, and kebabs must be cooked thoroughly to 75 degrees Celsius and using a meat thermometer is the fail-safe method to ensure you are serving up a safe and tasty barbecue this summer. Through a combination of humour and practical advice, we hope the campaign encourages more people to trust a meat thermometer when cooking.”

The Trust the Meat Thermometer campaign is live across VOD, DOOH, Display, social media and in butcher’s shops”.