As we close on another year, many of us are thinking of gathering to celebrate traditional and new holidays with friends and families. Here are some tips to stay safe in the kitchen.
Clean: This is the first step when preparing food, and the last step when we are done preparing food.
- Wash hands with warm water and soap for 20 seconds before and after handling any food. For children, this means the time it takes to sing 'Happy Birthday' twice.
- Wash food-contact surfaces (cutting boards, dishes, utensils, countertops) with hot, soapy water after preparing each food item and before going on to the next item.
- Rinse fruits and vegetables thoroughly under cool running water and use a produce brush to remove surface dirt.
- Do not rinse raw meat and poultry before cooking. Washing these foods makes it more likely for bacteria to spread to areas around the sink and countertops.
Separate: Keep raw produce separated from raw meat, fish, seafood and eggs, on cutting boards, refrigerator shelves and shopping bags. This stops raw meat juices from touching fruits and vegetables we may eat raw.
Chill: Refrigerate leftovers and takeout foods—and any type of food that should be refrigerated—within two hours; that includes pumpkin pie!
- Set your refrigerator at or below 40ºF and the freezer at 0ºF. Check both periodically with an appliance thermometer.
- Don't taste food that looks or smells questionable. A good rule to follow is, when in doubt, throw it out.
- Leftovers should be used within three to four days.
- When you host a holiday party you want to keep cold foods cold, do this by resting plates or bowls of fresh fruit on top of ice. Keep hot foods hot, such as mashed potatoes, by placing them in a chafing dish. Keeping foods hot or cold will help slow down any germ growth.
Cook: Cook foods to the safe minimal temperature with a food thermometer. Fish, chicken/turkey, eggs, ground meat, and beef, lamb, and pork steaks for example will all have different safe minimal temperatures. Reaching these temperatures are important to kill bad germs that might be in our food.
Thaw: A turkey or other frozen food items this holiday season?
- Never defrost food at room temperature. Food can be defrosted safely in the refrigerator, wrapped, under cold running water, or in the microwave. Food thawed in cold water or in the microwave should be cooked immediately.
- Allow the correct amount of time to properly thaw food. For example, a 20-pound turkey needs four to five days to thaw completely when thawed in the refrigerator.
Visit our past food safety blogs that will keep your holidays food-fun and safe!
