Safe Food Handling for Healthy Holidays
During holiday season, the Department of Health encourages everyone to practice important food safety measures when preparing meals.
When is cooked food safe for eating?
These foods must be cooked at the following temperatures to kill germs:
- Poultry and Stuffing: 165º F
- Pork: 145º F
- Beef, Lamb and Seafood: 145º F
- Rare Beef: 130º F
- Hamburger (ground beef): 150º F
You must place a thermometer in the thickest part of the meat or in the center of the food to get a true reading.
What are safe food handling and preparation tips I can use?
- Wash hands before and after preparing food
- Separate - don't cross-contaminate. Keep raw meat and poultry apart from cooked foods.
- Wash hands, utensils, and kitchen surfaces with hot soapy water after they touch raw meat or poultry.
- Give your turkey ample time to defrost: refrigerator – 24 hours per 5 lbs of bird; cold water bath – 30 minutes per 1 lb of bird.
- Buy a fresh turkey (not frozen) one day before cooking.
- Stuffing should be moist and the turkey should be cooked immediately after stuffing.
- Cook turkey until a meat thermometer reads: 180°F in the thigh, 170°F in breast pieces, 165°F in the stuffing, and when pierced with a fork, juices are clear, not pink (Do not let thermometer touch bones when reading temperature).
- Keep hot foods at 140°F (using chafing dishes or hot plates) and cold food at 40°F (using ice).
- Eat cooked food promptly and refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours after cooking. (Discard any turkey, stuffing, and gravy left out at room temperature longer than 2 hours).
- Refrigerate or freeze food in shallow storage containers for quicker cooling.
- Refrigerated turkey should be eaten within 3-4 days; gravy, stuffing and other sides within 1-2days; and frozen leftovers within one month.
- Reheat leftovers to 165°F or hot and steaming.
It’s important to practice safe food handling and preparation
- Millions of people get sick from dangerous bacteria in food every year.
- Many people don’t link their illness to foodborne bacteria. They think they have a case of the flu.
- You can become sick anytime from 20 minutes to 6 weeks after eating food with some types of harmful bacteria.
- Infants and young children, pregnant women, and older adults are at greatest risk for foodborne illness.
Answers to Concerns about Bird Flu and Eating Poultry
Is it safe to eat chicken, poultry, and eggs?
YES, it is safe to eat chicken, poultry, and eggs. This includes poultry such as turkey.
Has the U.S. banned poultry coming from countries affected by avian (bird) flu?
Yes, the U.S. government has banned imported poultry from countries affected by bird flu. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has made very strict importing restrictions to prevent the spread of the bird flu virus in the U.S.
The USDA has also developed a surveillance system to monitor bird populations in the U.S. For more information, visit the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Office at www.usda.gov/birdflu
Is there bird flu in the U.S?
No, H5N1 bird flu is NOT present in the U.S. There is much media coverage on the avian (bird) flu potentially becoming the next pandemic (global outbreak) flu, but currently there is no bird flu in the U.S.
Can a person get the avian (bird) flu by eating it?
NO, bird flu is not transmissible by eating poultry. For protection against many types of food borne illnesses, all poultry should be cooked to 165º F or hotter. Cooking food properly also destroys other viruses and bacteria, including Salmonella and E.coli.