7/29/2019 Food Safety Tips for the Holidays (PDF)
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1 / FDA Consume r Hea l th In o rma t ion / U .S . Food and D
rug Admin i s t r a t ion NOVEMBER 2011
Consumer Health Informationwww.fda.gov/consumer
1.Clean:Therstruleofsafefoodprepar
ation!
2.Separate:Dontgivebacteriatheopportunitytospread!
3.Cook:Killharmfulbacteria!
4.Chill: Refrigeratefoodsquickly!
Typical symptoms o oodborne ill-ness are vomiting, diarrhea, and
u-likesymptoms, which can start anywhererom hours to days ater
contaminatedood or drinks are consumed.
The symptoms usually are not long-lasting in healthy peoplea ew
hoursor a ew daysand usually go away
without medical treatment. But ood-borne illness can be severe
and evenlie-threatening to anyone, especiallythose most at risk:
older adults infants and young children pregnant women people with
HIV/AIDS, cancer, or
any condition that weakens theirimmune system
people who take medicines that sup-press the immune system; or
exam-ple, some medicines or rheumatoid
arthritis
Combating bacteria, viruses, para-sites, and other contaminants
in ourood supply is a high priority or theFood and Drug
Administration. Butconsumers have a role to play, too,especially
when it comes to sae oodhandling practices in the home.
The good news is that practicingour basic ood saety measures
can
Parties, family dinners,
and other gatherings
where food is served are
all part of the holiday cheer.
But the merriment can changeto misery if food makes you or
others ill.
Food Safety Tips for
Healthy Holidays
help prevent oodborne illness, saysMarjorie Davidson, a consumer
edu-cator at FDA.
1. Clean:The frst rule o sae oodpreparation in the home is to
keepeverything clean. Wash hands with warm water and
soap or 20 seconds beore and ater
handling any ood. For children,this means the time it takes to
singHappy Birthday twice, says David-son.
Wash food-contact surfaces (cuttingboards, dishes, utensils,
countertops)with hot, soapy water ater preparingeach ood item and
beore going onto the next item.
7/29/2019 Food Safety Tips for the Holidays (PDF)
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2 / FDA Consume r Hea l th In o rma t ion / U .S . Food and D
rug Admin i s t r a t ion NOVEMBER 2011
Consumer Health Informationwww.fda.gov/consumer
Rinse fruits and vegetables thor-oughly under cool running
waterand use a produce brush to removesurace dirt.
Do not rinse raw meat and poultrybefore cooking. Washing these
foodsmakes it more likely or bacteria tospread to areas around the
sink andcountertops, says Davidson.
2. Separate: Dont give bacteria theopportunity to spread rom one
oodto another (cross-contamination). Keep raw eggs, meat, poultry,
sea-
ood, and their juices away romfoods that wont be cooked. Take
thisprecaution while shopping in the
store, when storing in the rerigeratorat home, and while
preparing meals. Consider using one cutting board
only or oods that will be cooked(such as raw meat, poultry, and
sea-ood) and another one or those thatwill not (such as raw fruits
and veg-etables).
Keep fruits and vegetables that willbe eaten raw separate rom
otheroods such as raw meat, poultry, orseaoodand rom kitchen
utensilsused or those products.
Do not put cooked meat or other foodthat is ready to eat on an
unwashedplate that has held any raw eggs, meat,poultry, seaood, or
their juices.
3. Cook: Food is saely cooked whenit reaches a high enough
internaltemperature to kill harmul bacteria. Color is not a
reliable indicator of
doneness, says Davidson. Use a foodthermometer to make sure
meat,poultry, and fsh are cooked to a saeinternal temperature. To
check a tur-
key or saety, insert a ood thermom-eter into the innermost part
o thethigh and wing and the thickest parto the breast. The turkey
is sae whenthe temperature reaches 165F. If theturkey is stued, the
temperature othe stufng should be 165F. (Pleaseread on or more on
stufng.)
Bring sauces, soups, and gravies to arolling boil when
reheating.
Cook eggs until the yolk and white
are firm. When makingyour own eggnog or other recipe call-ing or
raw eggs, use pasteurized shelleggs, liquid or rozen pasteurized
eggproducts, or powdered egg whites.
Dont eat uncooked cookie dough,which may contain raw eggs.
4. Chill: Refrigerate foods quicklybecause harmul bacteria grow
rapidlyat room temperature. Refrigerate leftovers and takeout
oodsand any type o ood thatshould be rerigeratedwithin twohours.
That includes pumpkin pie!
Set your refrigerator at or below 40Fand the reezer at 0F. Check
bothperiodically with an appliance ther-
mometer. Never defrost food at room tempera-
ture. Food can be derosted saely inthe rerigerator, under cold
runningwater, or in the microwave. Foodthawed in cold water or in
the micro-wave should be cooked immediately.
Allow the correct amount of time toproperly thaw ood. For
example,a 20-pound turkey needs our tofve days to thaw completely
whenthawed in the rerigerator.
Dont taste food that looks or smells
questionable. Davidson says, A goodrule to ollow is, when in
doubt,throw it out.
Leftovers should be used within threeto our days.
Use care with stufngIn its Holiday Food Safety SuccessKit, the
Partnership for Food SafetyEducation (at
HolidayFoodSaety.org)recommends:
Whether it is cooked inside or out-side the bird, all stufng and
dress-ing must be cooked to a minimumtemperature o 165 F. For
optimumsaety, cooking your stufng in a cas-
serole dish is recommended.Stuffing should be prepared andstued
into the turkey immediatelybefore its placed in the oven
Mix wet and dry ingredients or thestufng separately and combine
justbeore using
The turkey should be stued loosely,about 3/4 cup stufng per
pound ofturkey
Any extra stufng should be baked ina greased casserole dish
The U.S. Department of Agricultureoers more inormation on
stufngsafety at its Turkey Basics Web
page(www.sis.usda.gov/act_sheets/Turkey_Basics_Stufng/index.asp).
Information on food safety isavailable by phone at:
The FDA Food Information Line1-888-SAFEFOOD (1-888-723-3366)
The USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline
1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854)TTY 1-800-256-7072
Find this and other Consumer
Updates at www.fda.gov/
ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates
Sign up for free e-mail
subscriptions at www.fda.gov/
consumer/consumerenews.html
http://www.holidayfoodsafety.org/http://www.fsis.usda.gov/fact_sheets/Turkey_Basics_Stuffing/index.asphttp://www.fsis.usda.gov/fact_sheets/Turkey_Basics_Stuffing/index.asphttp://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdateshttp://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdateshttp://www.fda.gov/consumer/consumerenews.htmlhttp://www.fda.gov/consumer/consumerenews.htmlhttp://www.fda.gov/consumer/consumerenews.htmlhttp://www.fda.gov/consumer/consumerenews.htmlhttp://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdateshttp://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdateshttp://www.fsis.usda.gov/fact_sheets/Turkey_Basics_Stuffing/index.asphttp://www.fsis.usda.gov/fact_sheets/Turkey_Basics_Stuffing/index.asphttp://www.holidayfoodsafety.org/
