The start of the holiday season – Thanksgiving – is just around the corner. This is a special time of year to spend with our family and friends and give thanks for all we have. For many of us, Thanksgiving means plenty of good food with a side of football. One thing that no one has on their holiday wish list is food poisoning.
Food safety becomes even more important during the holidays. Big meals that involve lots of different dishes, often served buffet or potluck style, can present challenges. The copious amounts of leftovers holiday meals leave behind also need to be handled correctly to remain safe to eat.
What is Food Poisoning?
If you have ever experienced food poisoning – nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration, fever – you already know how important food safety is!
Food poisoning, also known as foodborne illness, affects one in six Americans every year, some 48 million people. But food poisoning can be more than just an inconvenience for a few days – depending on the type of bacteria involved, it can be quite serious. Each year, foodborne illnesses are linked to about 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths.
Food poisoning is especially dangerous for the very young, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems. That’s why it is important to avoid food poisoning altogether by handling, preparing and storing food safely.
“If you experience food poisoning, the best thing to do is take it easy and try to keep some liquids down until you begin to feel better,” says Dr. C. Brooks Smith, a family medicine physician in Granbury. “However, if you experience bloody stools, a fever over 102 degrees Fahrenheit, diarrhea for more than three days, signs of dehydration or inability to keep fluids down, seek medical attention right away.”
What Makes Food Unsafe?
To prevent food poisoning, it’s helpful to understand what causes it in the first place: unhealthy levels of germs in the form of bacteria, viruses or parasites. There are many foodborne illnesses, but in the United States today there are five food-related germs that most commonly cause us problems: norovirus, Salmonella, C. perfringens, Campylobacter and E. coli.
Some foods may come with germs already on them. Raw produce often has bacteria on it – that’s why it needs to be washed before eating. Raw or undercooked meat, poultry, fish, shellfish and eggs may also contain bacteria that can make us sick, which is why food must be cooked to recommended temperatures.
Even food that has been cooked properly can develop bacteria afterwards – that’s why it must be refrigerated if not eaten right away. Bacteria grow rapidly on food that is in the temperature “danger zone” – that means temperatures between 40 F and 140 F. To be safe, food must be maintained at temperatures below or above the danger zone.
The Food Journey
The food we eat goes through a lot of steps before it makes it to our dinner table. When everything works the way it should – and it does, most of the time – your food made it to your local grocery store in good condition, thanks to good practices by the farmers and ranchers who produced it, as well as those who transported it. It is also regulated by government agencies like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
There has been a lot of attention this year on food safety, with numerous reports of recalled foods. The data show the total number of food recalls is roughly the same as last year, but some high-profile food safety incidents have understandably generated a lot of attention.
For example, this year’s cyclosporiasis outbreak, which was primarily linked to iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico, sickened more than 12,000 people in 21 states, including Texas. This parasite caused severe gastrointestinal problems that could last for days or even weeks.
“When we hear reports of food being recalled, this actually means the system is working,” says Dr. Smith. “Either the producer or the government caught a problem, got the unsafe food out of the marketplace and is working to make the public aware. As consumers, we just need to pay attention to these announcements so that if we have any recalled food in our home, we can throw it away.”
At the Grocery Store
Your local grocer takes food safety seriously too and works to keep perishable foods at the right temperature. A well-run grocery store is disciplined about rotating merchandise and removing groceries that are out of date, ensuring customers are only picking up fresh foods off the shelf.
Once you put the food in your grocery cart, it’s up to you to keep your food safe!
When you are shopping, keep in mind the importance of keeping meat, dairy and other perishable items cold. Shop for your dry groceries first and pick up your cold items right before checking out. Head straight home and get those perishable groceries in the refrigerator. Think about when you’ll be using the food you just bought. For example, if you buy meat you will not cook for several days, it’s best to put it in the freezer.
Understanding Expiration Dates
Dates on food packaging can be inconsistent and confusing to consumers, who must distinguish between “best by,” “use by” and “sell by” dates.
Importantly, there is no federal law or regulation that requires dates for safety purposes, with one significant exception: baby formula. Federal regulations require a “use by” date on baby formula for safety reasons. Never use baby formula past its “use by” date.
For everything else, you must use your judgment. A “best by” or “use by” date is not necessarily tied to food safety but is instead an indicator of taste and freshness. The product’s peak freshness and optimum flavor may begin to decline after the “use by/best by” date, but it is not necessarily spoiled.
For a non-perishable item, such as a box of crackers, the food may be stale after the date on the package. Use your judgment when deciding whether you want to eat it. Similarly, canned goods aren’t spoiled after their “use by” date, but they may not be at peak freshness. However, if a can is dented or bulging, you should throw it away.
When a product has a “sell by” date, that is a message to the retailer to take it off the shelves after that date. The understanding is that a customer can purchase the product on the “sell by” date and it should still be good for several days afterwards.
Milk should generally be good for a few days after the “sell by” date before turning sour. Always judge the food’s freshness by smell and appearance. Perishable food can grow mold or yeast as it spoils. If it smells or looks unpleasant, don’t take a chance – throw it away.
Preparing Food
When it comes time to prepare your food, the FDA recommends approaching food safety in four phases: clean, separate, cook and chill. Here’s how that breaks down:
Clean: Hands, Kitchen, Equipment & Food
Food can be contaminated by the germs on our hands. Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds before you touch food. Wash your hands thoroughly after handling food, also – raw meat in particular will leave bacteria on your hands.
Make sure utensils, cutting boards, pots and pans, etc. are clean before you start prepping and cooking. It’s best to use plastic cutting boards for prepping meat, fish and poultry. Put the boards in the dishwasher when you’re done so they get completely sanitized.
Avoid using wood cutting boards for meat preparation. Some wood boards must be washed by hand, which may not result in the same sanitization that can be achieved in the dishwasher.
For countertops, use a kitchen-safe cleaner that kills bacteria.
The Dos & Don’ts of Rinsing Food
- Do rinse fruit and vegetables: Produce can contain bacteria, so it’s important to always wash it before eating or preparing. It can also still have dirt on it.
- Do not rinse raw meat. Many of us used to rinse off chicken and pork, but this is no longer recommended. Rinsing meat can cause bacteria to splash and land on your counters – or you. Plus, it is an unnecessary step – the cooking process will kill the bacteria.
Separate
Keep meat, poultry and fish separate from other foods to prevent cross-contamination.
That means using separate cutting boards and utensils for raw meats and other food, such as produce.
Take advantage of plastic bags at the grocery store to prevent juices from meat leaking on to other foods.
Cook
Meat must be cooked to a specific temperature to ensure that it is safe. Using a food thermometer is the only reliable way to determine doneness. Appearance and color of the meat are not adequate to gauge doneness.
An instant-read thermometer, inserted into the thickest part of the meat and not touching a bone, is the most effective means to get an accurate temperature.
Following are the recommended minimum temperatures for meats, fish and poultry, as well as casseroles and leftovers:
- Whole cuts of beef, pork, veal, and lamb: 145 F, then allow the meat to rest for three minutes before carving or eating; the meat temperature will continue to rise while resting.
- Ground meats, such as beef and pork: 160 F.
- Poultry, including whole cuts and ground chicken or turkey: 165 F.
- Fin fish: 145 F or until flesh is opaque.
- Ham, fresh (raw): 145 F.
- Leftovers and casseroles: 165 F.
Chill
Your refrigerator temperature should always be below 40 F.
The best way to thaw frozen food is in the refrigerator. You can also put food in cold water or defrost it in the microwave, but in both cases the food must be cooked immediately.
NEVER leave frozen food out on the counter to thaw. While part of the food is still frozen, the thawed portion can easily rise above 40 F, allowing bacteria to multiply quickly.
Do not allow leftover food to sit out for more than two hours after it is done cooking. If eating outdoors and the air temperature is 90 F or higher, get the leftovers in refrigeration within one hour. If your food sits out any longer, bacteria will begin to grow.
Preparing a Turkey
For many of us, it’s not Thanksgiving if there isn’t a turkey involved. Since most people don’t prepare a turkey but once a year, here are some helpful tips on how to do it safely:
- If you buy a frozen turkey well in advance of when you will cook it, keep it in the freezer.
- Thaw your turkey in the refrigerator the week of Thanksgiving. A turkey can take a few days to thaw – allow 24 hours of thawing time for every 4-5 pounds of bird.
- When thawing, keep the turkey in its packaging and place in a container, such as a foil roasting pan, in the fridge. This will prevent the turkey’s juices from leaking all over your other food.
- Keep the turkey refrigerated until it’s time to prepare it.
- When it comes time to prepare the turkey, do not rinse it – you’ll splatter bacteria all over your kitchen.
- When preparing the turkey, use a clean cutting board and immediately put it in the dishwasher when done.
- To roast the turkey, the oven should be set to at least 325 F. This is a minimum temperature; different recipes and techniques may call for varied temperatures and roasting times.
- Every part of the turkey must be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 F.
- Your turkey may come with a pop-up timer, but don’t rely on it. To test for doneness, insert a meat thermometer into the bird in three places:
- The thickest part of the breast
- Where the body and thigh join, aiming the thermometer at the thigh
- Where the body and wing join, aiming toward the wing
- When you insert the thermometer, make sure it is not touching the bone, which can give you a false reading
- Allow the turkey to rest on the counter for 20 minutes before carving.
- When preparing stuffing (dressing), it’s best to bake it separately in its own casserole dish. If you are going to cook the stuffing inside the bird’s cavity, you must ensure the stuffing has also reached a temperature of at least 165 F, as the turkey’s juices – and bacteria – will infiltrate the stuffing.
If you want a fried turkey, it’s best to purchase it from a restaurant. Using a turkey fryer at home is dangerous and may lead to explosions and fires.
Other Thanksgiving Tips
It’s nice to have help with a big holiday meal. When your guests pitch in to relieve some of your workload by bringing side dishes, that’s a gift. Just keep in mind a few food safety measures.
If your guests are arriving hours before mealtime, put their dishes in the refrigerator until it’s time to warm them up. Alternatively, you can put them in the oven on a “warm” setting, but the food may dry out, and you may run out of space.
For large gatherings that turn into “come and go” celebrations, be mindful of how long your food is sitting out. If it’s going to be more than a couple of hours, invest in some food warming burners and keep your food covered to retain heat.
Dealing with Leftovers
It is not necessary for food to cool completely before placing it in the fridge; it is more important to get it in quickly. However, for large portions – especially a big piece of meat, such as a turkey – it’s a good idea to cut it into smaller portions to store separately. The smaller portions will allow the food to cool down more quickly.
The other important aspect of leftover safety is knowing how long the food will be good for. According to the USDA, Thanksgiving leftovers in the refrigerator are good for 3-4 days. That means the Monday after Thanksgiving is the last day you should eat any leftovers, unless they have been in the freezer. For a comprehensive list of how long leftover food lasts, check out this chart from the USDA.
Keep Your Food Safe!
Keeping your food safe, from the grocery store to the leftovers, is one of the most important things you can do to keep yourself, your family and your guests safe and healthy this holiday season.
One last thing: after you’ve prepared your feast and entertained your guests with their comfort and health in mind, appoint someone else to do the cleanup while you go watch some football!
From all of us at Privia Medical Group North Texas, Happy Thanksgiving!
This article has been reviewed and approved by a panel of Privia Medical Group North Texas physicians.
This article contains information sourced from:
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
U.S. Food & Drug Administration
