Thanksgiving Safety Tips

Whether you are cooking for a volunteer project or cooking for your own family, food safety is a critical thing to be thinking about. With Thanksgiving upon us, now is a good time to share some safety tips for your Thanksgiving Feast.

Follow these tips today and always:

1. Keep everything clean.

• Scrub hands with soap under warm water for 20 seconds. Do the same after handling food, especially raw meat or poultry, to avoid cross-contamination.
• Clean counters, cutting boards, dishes and silverware with hot water and soap before and afer preparing each food item.
• Wash fruits and vegetables to remove surface dirt, but do not rinse raw meat or poultry -- this makes it more likely for bacteria to spread.

2. Heat foods to the proper temperature.

• Color is never a reliable indicator of safely cooked food. Use a food thermometer to make sure meat, poultry, and fish are cooked to a safe internal temperature -- typically 165 degrees.

3.  Keep foods at appropriate temperatures.

• Keep hot foods at 140 degrees or warmer with chafin dishes, slow cookers and warming trays.
• Keep cold foods at 40 degrees or colder. Nest serving dishes in bowls of ice and store moist desserts, such as pumpkin pie and cakes with shipped frosting, in the refrigerator until serving.
• Never let food sit out at room temperature for than two hours.

4.  Store leftovers safely.

• Divide leftovers into shallow containers, which allow rapid cooling, before storing in the refrigerator or freezer.
• Never defrost food at room temperature. Use a microwave or oven to reheat foods to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
• Eat leftover food within 3-4 days.