Holiday Food Safety

1. Holiday Food Safety By Gena Burke

2. The turkey is all brown and juicy The salads and vegetables look delicious The bread is toasty and warm The meal looks perfect and the family is more than ready to dig in and enjoy the holiday foods BUT…. Could this wonderful meal make them sick? FOOD SAFETY IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT DURING THE HOLIDAYS

3. Why is practicing sound food preparation and storage methods so important during the holidays? • There are many reasons – during the busy holiday season, when time is of premium importance, we often cut corners. Food frequently stays out for nibbling for longer periods. There is more food to store and we run short on storage space.

4. What can this lead to? Most commonly, bacterial growth and to the naked eye, we may not know the bacteria is there. Our senses are unable to pick up on early bacterial growth on food in many cases. Bacteria grows most rapidly on food in the 40 to 140 degree range. • Two of the most common problems that occur are: • Salmonella • Botulism (food poisoning)

5. Salmonella – produces symptoms of fever, diarrhea, dehydration and abdominal cramps • Botulism – produces symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, muscle weakness and can lead to neurological symptoms as well So what can we do to prevent these?

6. From FDA.gov

7. Wash hands, knives and other tools used in food prep before handling food and in between prepping different foods, preferably with antibacterial cleanser • Wipe food preparation surfaces frequently with antibacterial solution particularly if foods are messy • If food is refrigerated, keep it chilled until ready to prepare

8. Wash foods thoroughly before you begin preparation. • Be particularly careful when working with meats or eggs • For vegetables and fruits, be certain to wash thoroughly. This is especially important for green leafy vegetables. Organic apple cider vinegar added to the wash is safe to use and provides germicidal properties • Cook all foods to proper temperature

10. Remember not to leave food sitting out for too long. As temps drop or rise, bacteria begins it’s growth cycle.

11. Take special precautions with foods that have ingredients which spoil easily such as mayonnaise based salads, eggs, some cheeses or other dairy products, seafood or breads without preservatives. Either return these foods to the refrigerator after a short while or serve these foods nested in a bowl of ice (for cold) or over a heat source (for warm). • If you run out of room in your refrigerator, employ the use of coolers with ice.

12. With a large crowd all serving themselves there is a tendency for people to remove serving utensils from one dish and use in another dish. This is difficult to prevent. Make certain each dish has their own serving utensil. If you observe a utensil being used in another dish, immediately remove and replace it with a clean one. • With so many people handling utensils, the risk of contamination increases greatly. One or more guests may have an illness that they are unaware of that could be transferred to others via the utensils. Consider assigning servers who maintain safe food handling strategies.

13. Don’t take chances – enjoy your holidays by protecting yourself and others. Follow good food safety practices.