Food Safety 101 for Holiday Entertaining
– Chances are you
will be entertaining at least once or twice during
this holiday season. Now is a good time to review
some food safety rules so that you will know how to
keep your family and guests safe from food borne illnesses.
How would you answer the following:
* When preparing and cooking food at home, how often
do you wash your hands with soap and water before
you handle the food?
* The last time you prepared
a meal with fresh fruits or vegetables using dishes
or utensils (for example, knives), did you switch
cutting utensils and clean your cutting board when
switching from vegetables to a different food product,
like meat or bread?
* The last time that you cooked
raw meat, poultry or seafood on an indoor or outdoor
grill or barbecue, what did you do with the dish (plate
or other cookware) that held the raw meat, poultry
or seafood?
To see how your answers stack
up, visit a new Web site called meatsafety.org that
features a quiz to assess whether you’re a “food
safety star” or a “kitchen calamity”
when it comes to following safety guidelines. The
Web site is a project of the American Meat Institute,
a trade association representing America’s meat
and poultry industry, and is an important effort to
ensure that dining is a pleasant and healthy experience
for you and your family.
Turkey Trivia.
For those who consider themselves
the diva of kitchen cleanliness, the quiz might be
a sobering exercise. For instance, although most turkeys
have recommended cooking times printed on the package,
cooking experts say turkeys should be prepared with
a meat thermometer because even experienced cooks
can be overwhelmed by the size and dimensions of handling
such a large entrée. “A thermometer is
one of the best investments you can make for a happy
Thanksgiving,” says Dr. Randy Huffman, vice
president of scientific affairs at the American Meat
Institute Foundation. “As USDA says, it’s
safe to bite when the temperature is right.”
Your Dinner Guests
Another sure-fire step for ensuring
a safe meal is to consider who will be dining. What
many people fail to realize is that while the bacteria
that can result from improper handling may have limited,
or no effect on healthy adults, those very agents
could prove dangerous, or lethal, to pregnant women,
infants or those with compromised immune systems.
“Many of us can eat foods that contain listeria,
which can be found in a wide array of products, with
little or no side effects,” says Dr. Michael
Doyle, professor of food microbiology at the University
of Georgia. “But those who are receiving immunosuppressant
drugs because of a transplant or are receiving cancer
therapy, which suppresses the immune system, could
be highly susceptible and become seriously ill.”
For these reasons, deli meats and hot dogs should
always be reheated before serving to immunocompromised
and pregnant people.
Experts also agree that ground
products like hamburgers, turkey burgers and fresh
sausage should always be cooked to 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
There is plenty of information
you need to know about the most loved (or disliked!)
part of nearly every meal: leftovers. According to
meatsafety.org, leftovers should be chilled immediately
-- not left out to cool -- before refrigerating. They
should also be stored in shallow dishes to promote
rapid cooling and avoid bacterial growth. And don’t
forget to ensure that they reach an internal temperature
of 165 degrees when reheating them.
For Other Palates
Finally, for those who wish
to delve into more “meatier” issues, the
site devotes an entire section on commonly asked questions
about the use of antibiotics to keep livestock healthy,
genetic modification of foods, the use of hormones
in food animal nutrition and common food additives,
like sodium nitrite.
Have a safe and happy holiday
season.
