Chesterfield Health District Shares Food Safety Tips for the Holidays
Share the Joy this Holiday, Not the Germs
The Thanksgiving holiday season is here! Most holiday festivities have some component of food from family dinners to party appetizers. Chesterfield Health District shares safety and prevention tips to ensure that your holidays are filled with joy, laughter and good tiding, not illnesses.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1 in 6 Americans (48 million) get sick from foodborne illness annually. Foodborne illnesses usually affect your stomach or bowels. Typical signs and symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. Don’t let a foodborne illness put a damper on your holiday celebration.
Chesterfield Health District shares four key steps to preventing foodborne illness – clean, separate, cook and chill.
Clean
• Wash Your Hands. Wash your hands before and after preparing food or eating and after using the bathroom or changing diapers. Be sure to wash hands after handling uncooked meat, chicken and other poultry, seafood, flour, or eggs.
• Wash Surfaces. Wash any surface, to include utensils, counters and cutting boards, that comes in contact with food with hot, soapy water before and after preparing each food item.
• Rinse Produce. Rinse all fruits and vegetables under running water before eating, cutting, or cooking.
Separate
• Keep Foods Separate. Keep raw meat, poultry, seafood, and their juices away from other foods when grocery shopping. Store them in separate spots in the refrigerator.
• Avoid Cross Contamination. Avoid cross contamination by not reusing cutting boards, utensils and plates, especially with uncooked foods.
• Prevent Germs from Spreading. Do not rinse poultry. Research from USDA found that rinsing poultry and raw meat often result in spreading germs on sinks and countertops.
Cook
• Thaw Food Properly. Thaw frozen food safely in the refrigerator, in cold water, or in the microwave. Never thaw turkey by leaving it on the counter at room temperature.
• Cook Food Fully. Use a thermometer to ensure that food is cooked to a safe minimal internal temperature. Cooking times for a turkey depend on the weight and whether it is stuffed.
• Microwave Thoroughly. Microwave ovens can cook food unevenly and leave “cold spots” where harmful bacteria can survive. Follow recommended cooking and standing times. Letting food sit for a few minutes allows it to cook more completely.
• Avoid Raw Foods. CDC advises against eating raw foods, including uncooked meat, poultry, fish, eggs and flour. Raw cookie dough shouldn’t be eaten because it contains eggs and flour.
Chill
• Set the Temperature. Keep your refrigerator at 40°F or below and your freezer at 0°F or below.
• Use the Two-Hour Rule. Refrigerate any leftovers within two hours. This rule applies to any food that should normally be refrigerated, including pumpkin pie! Discard any food left out at room temperature for more than two hours. When in doubt, throw it out.
• Store Leftovers Safely. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for three to four days or in the freezer for three to four months. Store leftover food in small, shallow containers for quicker cooling.
If you suspect that more than one person has become ill after eating a common food, please contact Chesterfield Health District at 804-748-1691. You can also visit MyMealDetective.com to submit a foodborne illness report.