The Arizona Department of Health Services is urging consumers to make safe food preparation a tradition during the Thanksgiving holiday to prevent foodborne illness.
“Thanksgiving holiday cooks should never take basic food preparation precautions for granted. The last thing anyone wants is for a loved one or the whole family to get sick from poor food handling or improper temperatures,” said Don Herrington, Chief of the ADHS Office of Environmental Health. “Washing hands and surfaces which touch raw poultry and meat are the most important things to remember for preventing foodborne illness, but these simple steps are the things that people most often forget.”
Meat and poultry, the centerpiece of most holiday meals, can be a source of foodborne illness unless handled and prepared properly. Salmonella bacteria are commonly found in poultry, and are among the most common sources of diarrheal disease in the U.S. To date this year, more than 1,300 cases of foodborne illnesses have been reported in Arizona, according to the ADHS. Federal statistics show that millions of people become ill from foodborne diseases, and as many as 5,000 die each year as a result of bacteria or other microorganisms in food.
Consumers should keep the following food safety guidelines in mind:
Food Handling and Preparation
- Wash your hands thoroughly before and after preparing any food product.
- Keep two cutting boards close by -- one for preparing raw poultry, and the other for cutting cooked food and preparing ready-to-eat foods like salads. After using utensils or cutting
boards for raw food preparation or handling, thoroughly wash these items before using them for the preparation or handling of any other food.
- Never thaw meat or poultry at room temperature because this could cause growth of disease-causing bacteria. The preferred way to thaw turkey is in the refrigerator, where a steady cold temperature is guaranteed. Allow approximately 24 hours in the refrigerator for every five pounds of turkey. An 18-pound turkey, for example, will need three to four days in the refrigerator to thaw. A frozen turkey can also be thawed in cold running water. A 12-pound turkey takes about six hours to thaw in cold running water, while large birds (20 to 24 pounds) take about 12 hours. Based on the current drought conditions in Arizona and water conservation considerations, we encourage good planning to allow adequate time to thaw turkey in the refrigerator.
Turkey Tips
- Avoid cooking the stuffing inside the turkey. Stuffing inside the turkey often does not reach a high enough temperature. Improperly cooked stuffing can cause foodborne illness.
- Use a cooking thermometer to determine if the turkey is fully cooked. The meat should reach 180 degrees Fahrenheit.
- If a fully cooked turkey is purchased, it should be picked up hot and brought home and eaten within four hours. If you pick up your fully cooked turkey the day before Thanksgiving refrigerate it, make sure you heat all parts of the turkey to at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit before you eat it.
After the Feast
- Do not allow any cooked food to sit out at room temperature for more than four hours. Leftovers should be refrigerated promptly after the meal. Freeze leftovers that won’t be eaten within four days. It’s also a good idea to divide large amounts of leftovers into smaller portions for quicker chilling. Leftover meat and poultry stored in the refrigerator should be eaten within three to four days.
- Reheat leftovers to 165 degrees throughout or until steaming hot. Soups, sauces and gravies should be brought to a rolling boil for at least one minute.
- Never taste leftover food that looks or smells strange. When in doubt, throw it out!
For more information about food safety, call the ADHS Office of Environmental Health at (602) 364-3122, or the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-674-6854 or visit
www.fsis.usda.gov.
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