Before you break out the burgers for the July Fourth holiday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture wants to make sure that all Americans are fully informed about the bacteria on their burgers, chicken and steak and how to use a thermometer to ensure everything is fully cooked before the big barbecue begins.

The department's Food Safety and Inspection service is using taxpayer dollars to launch a Twitter hashtag campaign #GrillingLikeaPRO to warn Americans about the dangers of food poisoning while grilling outside on America's Independence Day, and all summer long.

"Summer is finally here! I can smell those steaks and burgers on the grill already. While grilling outside with our friends and family can be fun, it can also lead to food poisoning," USDA said on its FoodSafety.gov blog post. "While grilling outside with our friends and family can be fun, it can also lead to food poisoning."

The agency encourages Americans to share their grilling experiences on Twitter using the hashtag #GrillingLikeaPRO.

"When you and your family and friend are grilling outside this summer, upload a photo of your PRO food thermometer skills with the hashtag, #GrillLikeaPRO."

The "PRO" part of the hashtag is an acronym that helps provide safety tips to Americans on safe grilling techniques.

The "P" stands for "Place the Thermometer!"

"When you think your food is cooked, check the internal temperature by inserting the thermometer into the thickest part of the meet (usually about 1.5 to 2 inches deep)," the blog post advises.

The "R" stands for "Read the Temperature!"

The post then advises readers to wait about 10 to 20 seconds for an accurate temperature reading and provides the safe temperatures each type of meets needs to reach: for beef, pork, lamb and veal, it's 145 degrees F with a three-minute rest time; for ground meat, it's 160 degrees F; and for whole poultry, poultry breasts, and ground poultry, 165 degrees F.

The "O" stands for "Off the Grill" and advises readers to take the food of the grill and place it on a clean platter and be careful not to put cooked food on the same platter that held raw meat or poultry.

"Also remember to clean your food thermometer probe with hot, soapy water or disposable wipes," the post advises.

"Let's spread the work about using a food thermometer and declare our freedom from food-borne illnesses," the post concludes.