The FDA is offering holiday food safety tips to keep you and your family healthy this time of year. Keeping the food you make and serve safe is especially important in the time of the pandemic, since you don’t want to get food poisoning and need medical attention right now.
You will find a holiday food safety video at the link that will show you how to store, prepare, and serve food safely to avoid illness. There are four simple steps to make sure your foods are safe: clean, separate, cook, and chill.
First, start with clean hands, cutting boards, and utensils. Clean with warm water and soap and disinfect surfaces. Then, use different cutting boards for different types of food, for instance, raw meat and poultry and fresh produce. Cook foods thoroughly according to food safety charts, and always use a thermometer to make sure the temperature is correct. And finally, chill foods within 2 hours of taking it out of the oven or fridge to prevent bacterial growth.
There are also special tips offered for ready-to- cook foods, which have caused foodborne illness outbreaks in the past.
These types of foods always need to be cooked thoroughly, to safe final internal temperatures, before they are eaten. That includes raw packaged cookie dough which, unless the label specifies otherwise, needs to be baked before consuming. Other foods of concern include frozen entrees or pizzas and other convenience foods.
People who are most susceptible to serious complications from food poisoning at any time of the year include the elderly, the very young, pregnant women, anyone with a chronic illness like diabetes, and people with compromised immune systems. Always make sure that you follow directions on ready to cook food packages to the letter to keep yourself and your family safe. Follow these holiday food safety tips and happy holidays!
