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Holiday Food Safety Tips
Background
With the holiday season upon us, many American households are stocking up for family gatherings and feasts. Soon those same households will be dealing with extra helpings of leftovers. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers this a crucial time to raise awareness about foodborne illnesses. The FDA recently posted a paper on their Web site to warn about the risks.
Guidelines
Here are some of the precautionary techniques recommended by the FDA for preparing, cooking and handling food for your holiday meals. Keep it Clean Be sure to clean your hands and your food preparation surfaces frequently, ideally between every use. Pay special attention to favorite bacteria hiding spots: cutting boards, knives, sponges and countertops. Keep Foods Separate Avoid cross contamination. Juice from raw meats can spread bacteria. Keep your raw meats away from ready to eat foods. Watch the Temperature To kill harmful bacteria, foods must be cooked to the right temperature and for the right amount of time. Before cooking starts, make sure meats are well thawed; a 20-lb. Turkey will need two to three days to thaw completely in the refrigerator. Turkeys should cook until the internal temperature at the inner thigh area is 180 degrees Fahrenheit. If the turkey has not been fully thawed, the outside will cook faster than the inside. Keep Cool To keep bacteria from growing, refrigerate foods as soon as possible. Check your refrigerator temperature periodically. The refrigerator should be at 40 degrees and the freezer at 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Other specific recommendations include abstaining from eating raw cookie dough or homemade batters. These often contain raw fresh eggs, a natural safe harbor for the bacteria that cause salmonellosis. The same is true for eggnog. A safe alternative is the pasteurized eggnog sold in grocery dairy cases. Pasteurized apple cider and other juices are safest. Unpasteurized juices have not been treated to kill the harmful bacteria that can cause serious illness. Oysters and other seafood should be fresh and properly iced when purchased. When cooking fish, doneness is determined when the flesh has an opaque color and becomes flaky. Skip the raw oysters or shellfish, especially if you suffer from liver disorders or an otherwise weakened immune system; the risk from undercooked seafood is higher for anyone with these conditions. Children, the elderly and pregnant women are generally at higher risk from foodborne illnesses.
Finally, the mail order food gifts that are popular around the holidays should be sent and received with care. If you're sending someone a gift box that includes meats, cheeses, fruits or desserts, let the recipient know that the package is coming and that they should check the contents as soon as possible. If a package is labeled "keep refrigerated," it should arrive chilled and should be refrigerated as quickly possible.
For More Information
Look up the following web-site: http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/2003/ANS01263.html