Barbecue in the United States at barbecue competitions. There are 3 ingredients to barbecue. Meat and wood smoke are essential. The use of a sauce or seasoning varies widely between regional traditions. The first ingredient in the barbecue tradition is the meat. The most widely used meat in most barbecue is pork, particularly the pork ribs, and also the pork shoulder for pulled pork. The techniques used to cook the meat are hot smoking and smoke cooking. These cooking processes are distinct from the cold smoking preservation process. Hot smoking is where the meat is cooked with a wood fire, over indirect heat, at temperatures
Raw meat is estimated to be anywhere from 9.3 to 12.9 billion dollars in “medical costs and productivity losses.” Most of these diseases come from contact with contaminated raw meat, although other "vehicles of transmission" are becoming more and more frequent due to global travel. Other sources of disease-causing pathogens can include, but are not limited to: lettuce, sprouts, fruit juices, vegetables, raw milk and water. However, the main source of disease caused by microbial pathogens is usually raw meat. The type of pathogen present varies depending on the type of meat eaten. There are many disease-carrying pathogens found in raw meats,