For many Oklahomans, Thanksgiving and the holidays that follow are opportunities to visit friends and family while enjoying homemade foods.
Holidays present unique food safety challenges, so cooks should plan ahead to ensure that holiday foods are safe.
Each year, an estimated 76 million cases of foodborne illness occur in the United States. Most of these cases are mild and cause symptoms for only a day or two.
However, some are more serious, resulting in approximately 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths.
People at the highest risk of being affected by foodborne illness are the elderly, children, individuals with a weakened immune system, and pregnant women.
People in these high-risk groups should be especially mindful of potential foodborne illness.
The OSDH suggests the following food safety tips to enjoy your holiday season:
• Clean: Wash your hands with soap and warm water for 20 seconds before preparing food and wash food-contact surfaces often. Wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils and counter tops with hot soapy water after preparing each food item and before you go on to the next food.
• Separate: Don’t cross-contaminate and let bacteria cross from one food product to another.
This is especially true for raw meat, poultry, and seafood.
Keep raw meats and their juices away from ready-to-eat foods such as uncooked fruits and vegetables.
• Cook: Cook foods to proper temperatures. Use a food thermometer, which measures the internal temperature of cooked meat, poultry and egg dishes, to make sure that the food is cooked to a safe internal temperature.
• Chill: Refrigerate foods promptly. Public health officials advise consumers to refrigerate foods quickly because cold temperatures keep most harmful bacteria from multiplying.
Refrigerators should be set at 40 degrees and the freezer at 0 degrees, and the accuracy of the settings should be checked often with a thermometer.
Tips for Preparing Turkey
• Thawing: Fresh and frozen turkeys are equally safe as long as they are correctly handled and stored.
It is important to allow enough time for a frozen turkey to defrost. If a turkey is not properly thawed, the outside will be cooked before the inside.
When this happens, the inside might not become hot enough to destroy disease-causing bacteria.
• There are three safe ways to thaw food: in the refrigerator, the microwave oven and submerging in cold water.
When thawing in the refrigerator, allow 24 hours of thawing time for every five pounds of turkey. If thawing in cold water, allow 30 minutes defrosting per pound of turkey and change the water every 30 minutes.
