Stay healthy this Thanksgiving by following Food Safety Tips and Guidelines

During the Thanksgiving season, parties, family dinners, and other gatherings often involve plenty of food, but this festive cheer can quickly turn into discomfort if foodborne illness strikes. Food poisoning, which is caused by consuming contaminated food or drinks, typically leads to symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, and flu-like signs. These symptoms can appear anywhere from hours to days after consumption.

For most healthy individuals, the symptoms are temporary and usually resolve on their own within a few hours or days without the need for medical treatment. However, foodborne illness can be particularly severe or even life-threatening for those at higher risk, including:

• Older adults
• Infants and young children
• Pregnant individuals
• People with weakened immune systems, such as those with diabetes, HIV/AIDS, cancer, or any condition that impairs immunity
• People on medications that suppress the immune system, like those for lupus, psoriasis, or rheumatoid arthritis

For these individuals, it’s important to take extra precautions to prevent foodborne illness and seek medical attention if symptoms appear.

Combating bacteria, viruses, parasites, and other contaminants in our food supply is a high priority for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. And you play an important role in safe food-handling practices at home. The good news is that practicing four basic food safety measures can help prevent foodborne illness.

Prepare the turkey

Nearly 90% of U.S. hosts plan to serve turkey on Thanksgiving this year, according to Butterball, but it’s important to remember that raw turkey can carry harmful bacteria, including salmonella, campylobacter, and other germs. Proper handling is crucial to prevent contamination of kitchen surfaces such as sinks, counters, and refrigerators.

When thawing a frozen turkey, there are several safe methods to consider: in the refrigerator, in the microwave, or using cold running water. However, each method comes with its own set of risks. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), a frozen turkey requires about 24 hours of thawing time in the refrigerator for every 4 to 5 pounds of weight. If using a microwave or cold water method, the turkey should be cooked immediately afterward.

For more detailed guidance on safe turkey handling, including thawing and cooking times, the USDA provides helpful calculators to ensure your holiday meal is both delicious and safe.

When preparing turkey for Thanksgiving, it’s important to avoid common practices that could increase the risk of contamination. One such practice is washing the turkey. While many cooks still rinse their turkey out of habit, it’s not recommended. Washing the turkey can cause harmful bacteria to spread through water droplets onto kitchen surfaces, creating a higher risk of cross-contamination. Instead of washing, use paper towels to pat the turkey dry, and either toss the towels or wash a kitchen towel in the laundry afterward.

When it comes to roasting the turkey, it must reach a safe internal temperature of 165°F before serving. The most reliable way to check for doneness is by using a tip-sensitive digital thermometer, inserted into the innermost part of the thigh, ensuring it doesn’t touch the bone. It’s crucial not to rely on the plastic pop-up thermometers that come with some commercial turkeys, as studies have shown these can trigger before the turkey is fully cooked.

Visual cues like golden-brown skin, non-pink meat, or clear juices are not reliable indicators of proper cooking temperature. Always check with a thermometer to ensure your turkey is safe to eat.

Here are other tips provided by the FDA to keep your food safe this holiday

1. Clean:

The first rule of safe food preparation in the home is to keep everything clean.

• Wash hands with warm water and soap for 20 seconds before and after handling any food. To help you remember, it takes about 20 seconds to sing “Happy Birthday” two times.
• Wash food-contact surfaces (cutting boards, dishes, utensils, countertops) with hot, soapy water after preparing each food item and before going on to the next item.
• Rinse fruits and vegetables thoroughly under cool running water and use a produce brush to remove surface dirt.
• Do not rinse raw meat and poultry before cooking. Washing these foods makes it more likely for bacteria to spread to areas around the sink and countertops.

2. Separate:

Don’t give bacteria the opportunity to spread from one food to another (cross-contamination).

• Keep raw eggs, meat, poultry, seafood, and their juices away from foods that won’t be cooked. Take this precaution while shopping in the store, when storing in the refrigerator at home, and while preparing meals.
• Consider using one cutting board only for foods that will be cooked (such as raw meat, poultry, and seafood) and another one for foods that will not be cooked (such as raw fruits and vegetables).
• Keep fruits and vegetables that will be eaten raw separate from other foods such as raw meat, poultry or seafood — and from kitchen utensils used for those products.
• Do not put cooked meat or other food that is ready to eat on an unwashed plate that has held any raw eggs, meat, poultry, seafood, or their juices.

3. Cook:

Food is safely cooked when it reaches a high enough internal temperature to kill harmful bacteria.

• Color is not a reliable indicator of doneness. Use a food thermometer to make sure meat, poultry, and fish are cooked to a safe internal temperature. To check a turkey for safety, insert a food thermometer into the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast. The turkey is safe when the temperature reaches 165ºF. If the turkey is stuffed, the temperature of the stuffing should be 165ºF. (Please read on for more pointers on stuffing.)
• Bring sauces, soups, and gravies to a rolling boil when reheating.
• Cook eggs until the yolk and white are firm. When making your own eggnog or other recipe calling for raw eggs, use pasteurized shell eggs, liquid or frozen pasteurized egg products, or powdered egg whites.
• Don’t eat uncooked cookie dough, which may contain raw eggs and raw flour.

4. Chill:

Refrigerate foods quickly because harmful bacteria grow rapidly at room temperature.

• Refrigerate leftovers and takeout foods — and any type of food that should be refrigerated — within two hours. That includes pumpkin pie!
• Set your refrigerator at or below 40ºF and the freezer at 0ºF. Check both periodically with an appliance thermometer.
• Never defrost food at room temperature. Food can be defrosted safely in the refrigerator, under cold running water, or in the microwave. Food thawed in cold water or in the microwave should be cooked immediately.
• Allow the correct amount of time to properly thaw food. For example, a 20-pound turkey needs four to five days to thaw completely when thawed in the refrigerator.
• Don’t taste food that looks or smells questionable. A good rule to follow is, when in doubt, throw it out.
• Leftovers should be used within three to four days.

Bonus Tip: Use Care with Stuffing!

• Whether it is cooked inside or outside the bird, all stuffing and dressing must be cooked to a minimum temperature of 165ºF. For optimum safety, cooking your stuffing in a casserole dish is recommended.
• Stuffing should be prepared and stuffed into the turkey immediately before it’s placed in the oven.
• Mix wet and dry ingredients for the stuffing separately and combine just before using.
• The turkey should be stuffed loosely, about 3/4 cup stuffing per pound of turkey.
• Any extra stuffing should be baked in a greased casserole dish.