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Wednesday, November 23, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Observe food safety
over Thanksgiving
This week millions of
Americans will gather family
and friends around the dinner
table to give thanks. But for
those preparing the meal, it
can be a stressful time.
For many it is the largest
meal they have cooked all
year, leaving plenty of room
for mistakes that could cause
foodborne illness.
“Unsafe handling and
undercooking of food can lead
to serious foodborne illness,”
said Al Almanza, Deputy
Undersecretary for Food
Safety at the U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA).
“Turkeys may con-
tain Salmonella and
Campylobacter, harm-
ful pathogens that are only
destroyed by properly prepar-
ing and cooking the turkey.
Similarly, leaving leftovers
out for too long, or not taking
care to properly clean cooking
and serving surfaces, can lead
to other types of illness. We
want to be sure that all con-
sumers know the steps they
can take and resources that
are available to them to help
prepare a safe and enjoyable
holiday meal. ”
To avoid making everyone
at the table sick, the USDA
Food Safety and Inspection
Service (FSIS) offers five tips
for a food-safe Thanksgiving:
Tip 1: Don’t Wash That
Turkey.
According to the most
recent Food Safety Survey,
conducted by the Food and
Drug Administration, 68 per-
cent of the public washes
whole turkey before cooking
it. USDA does not recommend
washing raw meat and poultry
before cooking. Washing raw
meat and poultry can cause
bacteria to spread up to three
feet away. Cooking (baking,
broiling, boiling, frying or
grilling) meat and poultry to
the right temperature kills any
bacteria that may be present,
so washing meat and poultry
is not necessary.
Tip 2: Use the refrigerator,
the cold-water method or the
Don’t wash
that bird!
Cook to
165ºF
ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/DIMEDROL68/
microwave to defrost a frozen
turkey.
There are three safe ways
to defrost a turkey: in the
refrigerator, in cold water
and in the microwave oven.
Thawing food in the refrig-
erator is the safest method
because the turkey will
defrost at a consistent, safe
temperature. It will take 24
hours for every five pounds
of weight for a turkey to thaw
in the refrigerator. To thaw in
cold water, submerge the bird
in its original wrapper in cold
tap water, changing the water
every 30 minutes. For instruc-
tions on microwave defrost-
ing, refer to your microwave’s
owner’s manual. Cold water
and microwave thawing can
also be used if your bird did
not entirely defrost in the
refrigerator.
Tip 3: Use a meat
thermometer.
The only way to determine
if a turkey (or any meat, poul-
try or seafood) is cooked is
to check its internal tempera-
ture with a food thermometer.
A whole turkey should be
checked in three locations: the
innermost part of the thigh, the
innermost part of the wing and
the thickest part of the breast.
Your thermometer should
register 165°F in all three of
these places. The juices rarely
run clear at this temperature,
and when they do the bird is
often overcooked. Using the
food thermometer is the best
way to ensure your turkey is
cooked, but not overdone.
Tip 4: Don’t store food
outside, even if it’s cold.
Storing food outside is not
food-safe for two reasons. The
first is that animals, both wild
and domesticated, can get into
food stored outside, consum-
ing it or contaminating it. The
second is temperature varia-
tion. Just like your car gets
warm in the summer, a plastic
food storage container in the
sun can heat up and climb into
the danger zone (above 40°F).
The best way to keep that
extra Thanksgiving food at a
safe temperature (below 40°F)
is in a cooler with ice.
Tip 5: Leftovers are good
in the refrigerator for up to
four days.
Cut the turkey off the bone
and refrigerate it as soon as
you can, within 2 hours of
the turkey coming out of the
oven. Leftovers will last for
four days in the refrigerator,
so if you know you won’t use
them right away, pack them
into freezer bags or airtight
containers and freeze. For best
quality, use your leftover tur-
key within four months. After
that, the leftovers will still be
safe, but can dry out or lose
flavor.
The Nugget Newspaper Crossword
By Jacqueline E. Mathews, Tribune News Service
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