Christmas is almost upon us, and some of you may be preparing your first Christmas celebration in your own homes, while others may be preparing their fiftieth. We're all excited to have our loved ones rally around our festively festooned tables, oohing and awwing over our lovingly created culinary masterpieces. At least I am. I love seeing my family's faces when they come to the table for a feast of my own making. Seeing their faces light up over a meal I have prepared is as much a gift to me as anything wrapped in shiny paper.BUT,,,the last thing I want to give my friends and family is a case of the trots with profuse vomiting. Well, maybe one sister-in-law, but thats another story.Lets keep our loved ones safe this holiday season by practicing healthy food safety, shall we? There are four basic food safety rules to follow to ensure your Holiday celebrations don't result in spending a day or two praying to the porcelain throne, not to mention possible trips to the Emergency room
Food borne illnesses usually show themselves a day or three after eating contaminated food. Vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramps surely would put a damper on hitting all this after Christmas sales, wouldn't it? Not to mention the possibility of it becoming a life threatening problem for the elderly, infants and children, those with compromised immune systems such as HIV/AIDS and cancer patients.Lets keep our loved ones safe by practicing the four safety rules form the FDA:CLEAN: The first and foremost rule is to keep everything clean.Wash hands with soap and warm water, using lots of friction for twenty seconds before handling foods. For kids, thats the time it takes to sing "Happy Birthday ", twice.Wash all contact surfaces( cutting boards, dishes utensils etc..) with hot soapy water after use, and before going on to the next item.Rinse fruits sand vegetables under running water, and use a scrubber on potatoes or other foods with visible dirt.Do Not rinse raw meat/poultry before cooking, as washing increases the chance for any bacteria they are harboring to spread to countertops, and sink.SEPARATE: Don't give bacteria a chance to spread to other foodsWhen shopping, keep raw meats, poultry and sea foods away from foods that won't be cooked. We all know how disgusting it is to have a piece of beef drip juices all over our other groceries, not only nasty, but dangerous.Use one cutting board for meat, another for veggies and fruit. Wash the boards in hot soapy water after each use.NEVER put cooked meat on a plate which has held raw meat.COOK: Color is not a good indicator of doneness."Use a food thermometer to make sure meat, poultry, and fish are cooked to a safe internal temperature. To check a turkey for safety, insert a food thermometer into the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast. The turkey is safe when the temperature reaches 165ºF. If the turkey is stuffed, the temperature of the stuffing should be 165ºF. Make sure oysters in oyster dressing are thoroughly cooked."If you don't have a meat thermometer, and your bird doesn't have one of those pop-up thingies, insert a fork into the innermost part of the thigh, and check the juices. They should run clear, with no hint of pink.When reheating, bring all sauces, gravies and soups to a rolling boil before serving.When making eggnog, or other dishes calling for raw eggs, try using pasteurized shell eggs, liquid or frozen pasteurized egg products, or powdered egg whites.Don't eat raw cookie dough which contains eggs. Yeah, that'll happen!CHILL: Bacteria grows quickly on warm foods as they cool, so clear the table soon after eating, two hours, at the latest.Set your refrigerator no higher than 40 degrees F.Never defrost foods at room temperature. Place in the fridge for a few days to thaw a turkey. A 20# bird needs 4-5 days to thaw in the fridge, so leave room for him.If you forgot to take him out of the freezer in time, use the microwave, or place under cold running water to thaw. If using these methods, cook immediately after thawing.Lastly, if a dish looks or smells funky, for God's sake, don't taste it to find out if its spoiled.Have a safe, and healthy holiday, and good luck in all those preparations. Now, get busy.
Food borne illnesses usually show themselves a day or three after eating contaminated food. Vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramps surely would put a damper on hitting all this after Christmas sales, wouldn't it? Not to mention the possibility of it becoming a life threatening problem for the elderly, infants and children, those with compromised immune systems such as HIV/AIDS and cancer patients.Lets keep our loved ones safe by practicing the four safety rules form the FDA:CLEAN: The first and foremost rule is to keep everything clean.Wash hands with soap and warm water, using lots of friction for twenty seconds before handling foods. For kids, thats the time it takes to sing "Happy Birthday ", twice.Wash all contact surfaces( cutting boards, dishes utensils etc..) with hot soapy water after use, and before going on to the next item.Rinse fruits sand vegetables under running water, and use a scrubber on potatoes or other foods with visible dirt.Do Not rinse raw meat/poultry before cooking, as washing increases the chance for any bacteria they are harboring to spread to countertops, and sink.SEPARATE: Don't give bacteria a chance to spread to other foodsWhen shopping, keep raw meats, poultry and sea foods away from foods that won't be cooked. We all know how disgusting it is to have a piece of beef drip juices all over our other groceries, not only nasty, but dangerous.Use one cutting board for meat, another for veggies and fruit. Wash the boards in hot soapy water after each use.NEVER put cooked meat on a plate which has held raw meat.COOK: Color is not a good indicator of doneness."Use a food thermometer to make sure meat, poultry, and fish are cooked to a safe internal temperature. To check a turkey for safety, insert a food thermometer into the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast. The turkey is safe when the temperature reaches 165ºF. If the turkey is stuffed, the temperature of the stuffing should be 165ºF. Make sure oysters in oyster dressing are thoroughly cooked."If you don't have a meat thermometer, and your bird doesn't have one of those pop-up thingies, insert a fork into the innermost part of the thigh, and check the juices. They should run clear, with no hint of pink.When reheating, bring all sauces, gravies and soups to a rolling boil before serving.When making eggnog, or other dishes calling for raw eggs, try using pasteurized shell eggs, liquid or frozen pasteurized egg products, or powdered egg whites.Don't eat raw cookie dough which contains eggs. Yeah, that'll happen!CHILL: Bacteria grows quickly on warm foods as they cool, so clear the table soon after eating, two hours, at the latest.Set your refrigerator no higher than 40 degrees F.Never defrost foods at room temperature. Place in the fridge for a few days to thaw a turkey. A 20# bird needs 4-5 days to thaw in the fridge, so leave room for him.If you forgot to take him out of the freezer in time, use the microwave, or place under cold running water to thaw. If using these methods, cook immediately after thawing.Lastly, if a dish looks or smells funky, for God's sake, don't taste it to find out if its spoiled.Have a safe, and healthy holiday, and good luck in all those preparations. Now, get busy.
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