When you make preparations for Thanksgiving and other holiday meals, you probably call on the traditional wisdom passed along to you by your mother. Among all of the family food secrets and recipes, however, you’re unlikely to find helpful advice regarding food safety.
No one ever got sick in our family, you say. But in fact, people can and do get food borne illness from holiday meals. Diarrhea, vomiting and flu-like symptoms–which can appear as early as a few hours to as long as several days after the meal–may be mistakenly labeled “intestinal flu” or be mild enough to go unnoticed.
On the other hand, food borne illness can be severe and even life threatening. Those most at risk include older adults, infants and small children, pregnant women and persons who have weakened immunity from cancer, HIV/AIDS, organ transplantation or some arthritis medications.
There is no reason to take chances, particularly when safe food handling practices are so easy to follow. According to the Food and Drug Association, the basics can be summed up as: 1) clean, 2) separate, 3) cook and 4) chill.
CLEAN: This refers to your hands and every surface in your kitchen that comes in contact with food.
Wash your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds both before and after handling any food. Dishes, knives and other utensils, cutting boards and counter tops should be clean before each use.
Fruits and vegetables should be rinsed well under cool, running water, but don’t rinse meat or poultry before cooking since this may spread bacteria around the sink and counter tops.
SEPARATE means avoiding cross contamination, and it’s such a basic principle that it is frequently overlooked.
Think of raw meat, poultry, seafood, eggs and their juices as being potentially contaminated with harmful bacteria. With cooking, these will be removed, but until then it’s crucial to keep them separate from foods that won’t be cooked. This principle should be followed from the time you place the items in your grocery cart until you put them in your oven or frying pan. Don’t put eggs or meat next to fruits and vegetables in your refrigerator.
Even if you’re diligent about washing your cutting board, you should probably have separate cutting boards for raw meat and poultry and for foods that won’t be cooked. Wash knives used to cut meat thoroughly in soap and warm water. And don’t use the contaminated plate to hold cooked food unless it has been washed.
COOK: Harmful bacteria are killed by cooking food to a high enough internal temperature. Appearance and food color are not reliable indicators of proper cooking.
For a turkey, insert a food thermometer into the innermost part of the thigh and the thickest part of the breast. The meat and the stuffing are not safe until the temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Soups, sauces and gravies should be brought to a rolling boil–even for re-heating. Both the whites and yolks of eggs should be firm. And don’t eat uncooked cookie or cake dough that contains raw eggs.
CHILL: Even after food has been cooked, bacteria thrive at room temperature. No matter how long your family lingers at the table after the meal, make sure that left-overs have been packed away in the refrigerator within two hours.
If you’re traveling from afar, bringing dishes to someone else’s house, it’s important to be aware of the need for keeping foods properly chilled any time two hours or more may elapse after cooking.
Proper chilling is under 40 degrees Fahrenheit, and the trunk of your car is unlikely to be that cool.
AT HOME, PREPARING FOR THE FEAST, make sure you have the refrigerator, stove and preparation space to follow these four basic principles.
If you’re going to be out for extended errands on the day you do your grocery shopping, make sure you get home quickly enough to keep refrigerated and frozen items safe. And make sure they are separated from fresh foods in your shopping cart and your carry-home bags.
Do you buy a fresh or frozen turkey? Each has its advantages, but if you’re going for fresh turkey, buy it no more than two days before you’ll be cooking it.
You can buy a frozen bird any time the price is right, but make sure you have room in your freezer and, later, in your refrigerator for thawing.
The turkey should be thawed in its original wrapper in the refrigerator, allowing 24 hours for each four to five pounds. That means for a turkey large enough to feed 12 to 16 people (a pound per person), you’ll need to start your thawing three or four days ahead.
If you forget or don’t have that much time, an alternative method is to thaw the bird in cold water in the sink, changing the water every 30 minutes. For this method, allow 30 minutes of defrosting time for every pound of turkey.
A turkey can also be thawed in a microwave, if the bird will fit. Follow the instructions. Never defrost on the counter top at room temperature!
A turkey thawed in the refrigerator can be kept there an extra day or two; those thawed in cold water or a microwave should be cooked immediately.
If you plan to stuff the turkey, pack it loosely, about 3/4 cup per pound of turkey, and put the bird in the oven immediately. Any extra stuffing can be cooked in a pan.
Either way, it’s to be cooked to a temperature of 165 degree Fahrenheit or greater–the same as the turkey.
Allow three to four hours of cooking for a 12-16 pound turkey, but use a meat thermometer for accuracy. You can cook to a temperature a bit above 165 degrees, if you wish, but not more than 170 degrees for the breast and 180 for the thigh.
Everyone counts on having leftovers the day after a holiday feast. The turkey should be cut into small pieces and stored separately from the stuffing. But don’t push the storage for longer than three or four days without freezing.
Re-heat leftovers to 165 degrees or until the food is hot and steaming. Sauces, soups and gravies should be brought to a boil. When using the microwave, make sure there are no cold spots where bacteria can thrive.
Food safety is mostly a matter of common sense, but it also requires good tools such as refrigeration and a meat thermometer. Your mother and grandmother didn’t have time to give you all these details and still show you how to make delicious gravy...without lumps.
REFERENCES:
FDA, “Food safety tips for healthy holidays,” November, 2011.
FDA, “Holiday food safety: resources for you, consumers,” last updated August 7, 2012.
“Holiday food safety success kit: here is everything you’ll need to have a festive, delicious, food-safe celebration,” Partnership for Food Safety Education, 2011.
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, “Seasonal food safety: fact sheet,” last modified November 16, 2010.
USDA, “Fight bac! Keep food safe from bacteria,” Partnership for Food Safety Education.
10/01/2012
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