A Crowded Schedule
For many of us, the word "holiday" could be a synonym for "get-together, usually involving many people and food." Often we have more guests and do more cooking from Thanksgiving through New Year's (and then Super Bowl Sunday) than the rest of the year combined. Make sure food safety is part of your holiday planning from start to finish—all the way from keeping produce, meat and eggs separate in your grocery cart to reheating leftover food. To avoid any of the gang getting sick from foodborne bacteria, check out "The More the Merrier," which includes tips for crowds and leftovers. Review the "core four" practices—clean, separate, cook and chill.

Take the guesswork out of fixing turkey safely for Thanksgiving and any other event by following a few easy guidelines; see “Talking Turkey".

Many people prepare special foods at the holidays that they may not prepare the rest of the year. When you’re preparing a crown roast, pot roast, pork loin or whole poultry, the temperatures for safety should be consulted.

Also, some of our favorite holiday foods may contain raw eggs or lightly-cooked eggs. Most commercially sold eggnog is pasteurized, meaning the mixture has been heated to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria that may have been present in the raw ingredients. If you’re making your own eggnog, be sure to use a recipe that calls for slowly heating the mixture to 160 °F. This will maintain the taste and texture while also killing bacteria. Keep eggnog in the refrigerator until you serve it.

Don’t let children (or adults) eat cookie dough or lick the mixer beaters if the recipe you’ve made contains raw eggs. Raw eggs could be contaminated with Salmonella—a leading cause of foodborne illness.

When it comes to buffets, the key is to keep hot foods hot, cold foods cold, and not let food sit out for more than two hours. See helpful tips in "Brilliant Buffets."

And for friends and family who can’t be with us in person, we often send edible treats. Whether these are homemade or ordered, a few rules about "Glorious Goodies" can keep everyone healthy and happy.

BE SAFE WITH THE BASICS

Clean Up

• Thoroughly wash your hands with soap and warm water for a full 20 seconds before and after handling raw products.
• Cutting boards should be run through the dishwasher -- or washed with soap and hot water -- after each use.

• Store raw meat, poultry and seafood on a plate or tray in the refrigerator, so raw juices don’t drip onto other foods.
• Use one cutting board for fresh produce and a separate one for raw meat, poultry and seafood.
• Never place cooked food on a plate that previously held raw meat, poultry or seafood unless the plate has been washed with hot soapy water.
• Don't spread bacteria with dirty sponges, dishcloths or towels. Bacteria often thrive in the moist areas of these items where bits of food may also exist. When you have a lot of people in and out of the kitchen, it's hard to keep track of what's been used to do what. Have a stock of paper towels or freshly-cleaned sponges or cloths and soap and hot water to clean food preparation surfaces.

Cook Safely

• For meat, poultry and other dishes, use a food thermometer to make sure foods are cooked to a safe internal temperature.  Consult our cooking chart for safe temperatures.
• When it comes to eggs—such as for brunch and eggnog—cook them until the yolks and whites are firm or reach 160 ºF on a food thermometer. Don't use recipes in which eggs remain raw or only partially cooked.
• Cook fish until it's opaque and flakes easily with a fork.
• When microwaving, make sure there are no cold spots in food (where bacteria can survive). For best results, cover, stir and rotate food for even cooking. If there's no turntable, rotate the dish by hand once or twice during cooking.
• When reheating sauces, soups and gravies, bring them to a boil. Heat other leftovers thoroughly to 165 ºF.

• Make sure the refrigerator temperature is 40 ºF or below and the freezer 0 ºF or below. Verify these temperatures using an appliance thermometer.
• Refrigerate or freeze meat, poultry, eggs and other perishables as soon as you get them home from the store. Do not leave prepared foods and leftovers out for more than two hours.
• Never defrost food at room temperature. Use the refrigerator. You can also thaw foods in airtight packaging in cold water (but change the water every 30 minutes, so the food continues to thaw in cold water). Or thaw food in the microwave, if you'll be cooking the food immediately.
• Divide large amounts of leftovers into shallow containers for quick cooling in the refrigerator.
• Don't stuff the refrigerator. Cold air must circulate to keep food safe.

Did You Know?
The average used kitchen sponge harbors billions of bacteria! Consider using paper towels or clean cloth towels.