The holidays may be the season for gifts, shopping and giving, but it’s also the season for food poisoning.
More than half of the food-poisoning outbreaks linked to turkey are caused by improper cooling, not improper cooking, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
Ann Mayo of the Lyon County Health Department offered some tips on how to keep food safe during the holiday season.
First there’s the bird. A turkey should be given plenty of time to thaw, Mayo said. Shop early for the turkey so that there is plenty of time to thaw it. If there isn’t room in the refrigerator to thaw the turkey, Mayo suggested seeing if the grocery store would keep the turkey in their cool room until it is thawed. She also suggested cleaning the refrigerator to make extra room for the turkey.
“Pop doesn’t need to be in the refrigerator,” Mayo said. She added that things like soda pop can be stored on a porch or iced down instead of taking up room in the refrigerator.
If the turkey is thawed in the refrigerator at home, it should have something under it so that juices don’t drop on lower shelves and contaminate other food.
Thawing is a very important process to preparing a turkey.
“Parts of the turkey can’t cook thoroughly as other parts of the turkey if it isn’t thawed,” she said.
Stuffing also should be cooked separately from the turkey and blended together after both are cooked, if desired.
When handling foods, hand washing is one of the best tools against food borne illness as is surface and supplies sanitation.
“Wash your hands and wash them a lot,” Mayo said. “And make sure they are dry.”
Mayo said not to move between prepping meat to prepping a salad without washing hands and washing surfaces or utensils. Bacteria needs a certain atmosphere to grow such as moisture and food.
“Freezing won’t kill foodborne pathogens,” Mayo said.
Mayo also talked about lettuce and fresh vegetables.
“If you decide you are going to have a lettuce salad, make sure it’s well-washed,” Mayo said. “Wash it and then wash it again. Don’t assume it doesn’t need to be washed. And if there’s any question about anything, throw it out.”
Fruits and vegetables also should be washed as the wax used on some of them can trap pesticides, Mayo said.
This time of year, there are a lot of group functions people are attending. Mayo also offered some tips on how to keep food safe in group settings. Again, proper hand washing practices come into play.
With potluck dinners, food should be kept hot or cold depending on the type of dish.
“You have about four hours and then it needs to be pitched,” Mayo said.
Gloves should be used at group functions.
“They should be used anytime anybody touches food,” Mayo said.
Proper sanitation should be used at large functions. Surfaces and utensils should be sanitized with a teaspoon of bleach to a gallon of water. Bleach should be just plain, regular strength bleach.
“Don’t get scented ones, just plain old bleach,” Mayo said.
When eating out during the holidays, precautions also should be taken.
“If you go to a restaurant and order hot food, it should be hot,” Mayo said. “If it’s not hot, then have them heat it up.”
Same goes for cold food, Mayo said.
“If an item is not cold, send it back and say ‘I’d rather just have something else,’” Mayo said.