Can’t you already smell and taste those delicious foods that will soon be on your Thanksgiving table? We often cook so much food there is hardly any room left in the refrigerator! Sometimes cooking for a large crowd, whether at home or in the community kitchen, can lead to mistakes at the expense of your guests’ health. Holiday meals have been linked to outbreaks of salmonella, campylobacter, clostridium perfringens, and staphylococcus aureus. To avoid a food-related holiday illness, follow these simple tips.

When shopping, purchase eggs, meat, milk, seafood, and poultry last. Bag raw foods in plastic bags separately from ready-to-eat foods. Avoid any stops on the way home. If your trip home will be longer than 30 minutes, consider putting cold foods in a cooler and refrigerate as soon as you arrive home.

Thawing the turkey seems to be the biggest challenge. I recommend placing the turkey in a container in the bottom of the refrigerator. Allow 24 hours for every 4 – 5 pounds. A 15-pound turkey could take 3 days. Patience and planning are keys in this venture.

Don’t wash the turkey! Washing poultry is a cultural habit and is not safe. Recent research has shown that when washing poultry, the bacteria on the poultry can be spread within three feet of the sink. That might include some already prepared foods. One North Carolina State food safety specialist suggests wiping down the turkey with a damp paper towel as an alternative to washing.

The biggest risk comes from undercooking the turkey. Golden brown color, when the “juice runs clear,” or the “popping button pops” are not safe, reliable ways to know when the turkey is done. The best way to know whether the turkey is done is to use a tip-sensitive digital thermometer reading of 165°F. Stick it in several places away from the bone.

You finish your Thanksgiving meal and then it’s time to relax, right? Not yet! Improper cooling is a common reason for foodborne illness outbreaks. Refrigerate all leftover cooked foods within two hours of removing from the oven/heat. Turkey and other cooked foods should be cooled to 41°F as quickly as possible. Slice the turkey or ham and place in quart resealable bags. Lay the bags flat on refrigerator shelves for faster cooling. Separate food from large containers into smaller ones to hasten the cooling process.

Enjoy your safe food; but most of all, enjoy the special times with family and friends. Remember to practice moderation, so I don’t hear from you in January about all the gained pounds.

For more information, please contact Janice Fields, Extension Family and Consumer Sciences Agent with North Carolina Cooperative Extension, Robeson County Center, at 671-3276, by E-mail at Janice_Fields@ncsu.edu, or visit our website at //robeson.ces.ncsu.edu/.

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