As we celebrate the Thanksgiving season, it is important to practice safe food preparation measures when preparing holiday meals. This is a time for good food and fellowship, so you don’t want it marred by food-borne illness.
There are five main tips to remember when preparing food for family and friends: clean, separate, cook, chill and discard. Be sure to wash your hands and cutting surfaces with soap and water often as bacteria can spread from knives, cutting boards and hands. Separate raw and cooked or ready-to-eat foods to prevent the spread of bacteria during preparation and serving. Cooking foods to a high enough temperature for a long enough time will kill harmful bacteria and prevent food-borne illness especially for raw meats, poultry and shellfish. Use a food thermometer when cooking meats and poultry to ensure they reach proper temperatures. Chill or refrigerate leftover foods within two hours. Finally, it is important to discard food left out at room temperature for more than four hours.
If you develop symptoms of food-borne illness such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or fever, contact your health care provider or local health department. Very young children, pregnant women, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems have an increased risk of developing serious illness, and should visit a health care provider immediately if they develop these symptoms.
For more food preparation tips and tricks for cooking a turkey, go to www.foodsafety.gov. Most companies that produce turkeys also have turkey tip hotlines that provide help for storing, thawing and cooking turkeys.