Stay safe! Prevent foodborne illness from crashing your holiday dinner.

Christmas is nearly here. Many of us will soon be celebrating with friends and family and sitting down to big delicious meals on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Big meals usually involve a lot of prep work done in advance, organizing the kitchen to accommodate all the food and giant serving dishes, coordinating the oven schedule, thawing and reheating, and packing leftovers. This provides many opportunities for bacteria and other organisms to grow, travel & contaminate food and makes it an excellent time to talk about food safety. Don't be fooled though: Food safety should be practiced year-round, on a daily basis. 

FoodSafety.gov provides a thorough, easy to read, and easy to navigate checklist of food safety tips broken down into four steps: clean, separate, cook & chill.

Here are the basics of food safety but please check out FoodSafety.gov!


Wash up. Wash hands often, for 20 seconds with soap & running water. If you are not sure of when hand washing is recommended, read more here. According to FoodSafety.gov, "studies have shown that [hand washing] is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of many types of infection and illness - including foodborne illness." Wash fruits & veggies even if you plan to cut or peel them because bacteria can move from the outside to the inside as you remove the rind or skin. Just use running water. Soaps and produce cleansers are not recommended for use on fruits & vegetables. You can use a clean produce brush to scrub firm produce like melons and lemons and you do not need to re-wash pre-washed salads. Do not wash your meat, poultry or eggs. Doing so can actually encourage the spread of bacteria when juices splash onto your sink and countertops. Commercial eggs are washed before sale.

Separate cutting boards. This is easier to do with a color coding system. Try red for raw meat, poultry and seafood and green for produce. Depending how often you find yourself slicing these items you may also want to consider additional color coded cutting boards for bread, cheeses and cooked meats. Use separate plates and utensils for cooked vs. raw foods.  

Keep cold foods cold & hot foods hot. Cook food to a safe temperature. Most meats, poultry, seafood and other cooked foods require a minimum internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, so check out this chart for safe minimum cooking temperatures. How can you tell when your food has reached its safe temperature? Invest in a food thermometer! When using a microwave, bring foods to 165 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. Do not thaw foods on the counter. Instead, thaw frozen foods on a plate in the refrigerator, in a watertight bag in cold water or using the thaw setting on your microwave.  

Handle leftovers safely. Refrigerate leftovers within two hours. Do not let leftover food cool first. Pack leftovers in clean, shallow containers. If you put a large pot or container of hot food in the refrigerator, it may not cool down to a safe temperature quickly enough. To allow the cold air to circulate, your refrigerator should not be overstuffed. FoodSafety.gov also offers this guide for when to toss leftovers. 

And if you are looking for tips on how to enjoy your holiday celebrations (including the cookies) without sabotaging your healthy diet and packing on the holiday pounds, check out my blog from Thanksgiving, Piece o' Pumpkin Pie: 10 Tips for Tackling Thanksgiving Dinner. The tips in this blog post can be applied to any party, special occasion or feast!

Cheers!
Diane


Image: MarthaStewart.com - Your Christmas Dinner Strategy

Christmas is nearly here. Many of us will soon be celebrating with friends and family and sitting down to big delicious meals on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Big meals usually involve a lot of prep work done in advance, organizing the kitchen to accommodate all the food and giant serving dishes, coordinating the oven schedule, thawing and reheating, and packing leftovers. This provides many opportunities for bacteria and other organisms to grow, travel & contaminate food and makes it an excellent time to talk about food safety. Don't be fooled though: Food safety should be practiced year-round, on a daily basis. 

FoodSafety.gov provides a thorough, easy to read, and easy to navigate checklist of food safety tips broken down into four steps: clean, separate, cook & chill.

Here are the basics of food safety but please check out FoodSafety.gov!


Wash up. Wash hands often, for 20 seconds with soap & running water. If you are not sure of when hand washing is recommended, read more here. According to FoodSafety.gov, "studies have shown that [hand washing] is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of many types of infection and illness - including foodborne illness." Wash fruits & veggies even if you plan to cut or peel them because bacteria can move from the outside to the inside as you remove the rind or skin. Just use running water. Soaps and produce cleansers are not recommended for use on fruits & vegetables. You can use a clean produce brush to scrub firm produce like melons and lemons and you do not need to re-wash pre-washed salads. Do not wash your meat, poultry or eggs. Doing so can actually encourage the spread of bacteria when juices splash onto your sink and countertops. Commercial eggs are washed before sale.

Separate cutting boards. This is easier to do with a color coding system. Try red for raw meat, poultry and seafood and green for produce. Depending how often you find yourself slicing these items you may also want to consider additional color coded cutting boards for bread, cheeses and cooked meats. Use separate plates and utensils for cooked vs. raw foods.  

Keep cold foods cold & hot foods hot. Cook food to a safe temperature. Most meats, poultry, seafood and other cooked foods require a minimum internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, so check out this chart for safe minimum cooking temperatures. How can you tell when your food has reached its safe temperature? Invest in a food thermometer! When using a microwave, bring foods to 165 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. Do not thaw foods on the counter. Instead, thaw frozen foods on a plate in the refrigerator, in a watertight bag in cold water or using the thaw setting on your microwave.  

Handle leftovers safely. Refrigerate leftovers within two hours. Do not let leftover food cool first. Pack leftovers in clean, shallow containers. If you put a large pot or container of hot food in the refrigerator, it may not cool down to a safe temperature quickly enough. To allow the cold air to circulate, your refrigerator should not be overstuffed. FoodSafety.gov also offers this guide for when to toss leftovers. 

And if you are looking for tips on how to enjoy your holiday celebrations (including the cookies) without sabotaging your healthy diet and packing on the holiday pounds, check out my blog from Thanksgiving, Piece o' Pumpkin Pie: 10 Tips for Tackling Thanksgiving Dinner. The tips in this blog post can be applied to any party, special occasion or feast!

Cheers!
Diane


Image: MarthaStewart.com - Your Christmas Dinner Strategy