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RSSLet's Talk Turkey and Keep it Safe
Today, the City of Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) is offering residents food preparation tips to use during the holidays. The improper storing, cooking and serving of a Thanksgiving turkey can lead to the growth of harmful bacteria like salmonella, which can cause foodborne illness.
"One of our top priorities is ensuring safe food handling in food establishments to protect consumers. With the holiday's around the corner it's a good time to remind residents that safe food handling of turkey and other holiday foods is essential to prevent foodborne illness" said Dr. Bechara Choucair M.D, Commissioner for the Chicago Department of Public Health.
CDPH offers the following tips to preparing your Thanksgiving turkey safely :
1. Safe Thawing
Always thaw a frozen turkey in the refrigerator, not on the counter. Allow one day for each five pounds of turkey. Once it's thawed, it should be cooked within four days. If you are buying a fresh turkey, it should not be kept in the refrigerator more than two days before cooking.
2. Safe Preparation
Don’t spread more than holiday cheer. Illness-causing bacteria can survive in many places around your kitchen, including your hands, utensils, and cutting boards. Unless you wash your hands, utensils, and surfaces the right way, you could spread bacteria to your food, and your family. Avoid this by washing your hands in warm water and soap for 20 seconds before and after handling food. Wash surfaces and utensils after each use.
3. Safe Cooking
Follow some simple food safety guidelines to ensure a safe meal and protect you and your family against food-related illness. Set the oven temperature no lower than 325⁰F and be sure the turkey is completely thawed. With a meat thermometer make sure the temperature is over 165°F, a pop up thermometer should only be a guide to doneness. Check the label on your turkey and follow directions. You can get more detailed easy to follow turkey preparation tips here.
4. Safe Serving
Thanksgiving meals tend to linger on, but don’t leave food out for more than 2 hours, after that temperatures become unsafe allowing bacteria to grow. Hot food like meats, gravies and stuffing must be kept warm at a temperature of at least 140°F, you can use warmers to keep things at a safe temperature. Find out what type of food allergies your guests might have so that you may alert them to stay away from dinner items that may produce a reaction.
5. Safe Leftovers
Left over food should be kept in a shallow container in the refrigerator at 40 degrees or below and eaten within 3-4 days to avoid foodborne illness. Reheat all leftovers to 165°F, use your meat thermometer. Gravy should be brought to a rolling boil.
Lastly, the #1 rule to follow is: when in doubt, throw it out!
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The mission of the Chicago Department of Public Health is to make Chicago a safer and healthier place by working with community partners to promote health, prevent disease, reduce environmental hazards and ensure access to health care for all Chicagoans.
You can also follow the Chicago Department of Public Health on Twitter: @ChiPublicHealth and on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ChicagoPublicHealth.
