South Australians are being warned to take care when using home rotisseries or spits after they were linked to more than 20 people falling ill last financial year.

Health Minister Jack Snelling said SA Health investigations identified home cooked pig and lamb on the spit as the main causes of salmonella outbreaks at two separate home gatherings in 2014-15.

“The use of home rotisseries and spits is becoming increasingly common across the state as a fun way to feed large groups, especially with the weather warming up and people wanting to cook outside,” Mr Snelling said.

“Proper storage, including hygiene and refrigeration are vital so that dangerous bacteria do not get the chance to multiply before the cooking process takes place.

“If you don’t have an appropriate place to safely store a whole animal we advise that you pick the raw meat up from the butcher or supermarket as close to preparation time as possible.”

SA Health director Dr Fay Jenkins said ensuring the meat had been fully cooked through was essential in preventing salmonella.

She said the best way to ensure meat was cooked through was to place a thermometer into the thickest part of the meat to measure the temperature.

“Meat, particularly poultry, needs to reach a temperature of 75 degrees Celsius to be completely safe,” she said.