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The INDEPENDENT, December 4, 2008
Giving or receiving food gifts this year? Remember food safety
Food products are popular
holiday gifts, but both giver and
receiver need to pay attention
to food safety. Delays in transit
can lead to spoilage. Products
from a mail-order company,
such as fresh and cooked
meat, poultry and fish, smoked
fish, most canned hams, sum-
mer sausage, and cheesecake,
probably will be marked, “Keep
refrigerated.” When receiving a
perishable food item, open it
immediately and check the
temperature. Mail-order food
should arrive frozen or partially
frozen with ice crystals still visi-
ble. Refrigerate immediately.
Even if a product is smoked,
cured, and/or fully cooked, it
still is perishable and must be
kept cold. If perishable food ar-
rives warm, notify the company.
Don’t eat or even taste it.
When ordering food prod-
ucts, it’s usually best to have
them sent to homes instead of
offices, which might not have
adequate refrigerated storage.
Try to arrange for delivery at a
time when the recipient will be
home to accept it. While most
mail-order companies are well
equipped to send perishable
foods in packaging that keeps
them cold, this may not be pos-
sible when doing your own
mailing. If you do ship products
requiring refrigeration, use an
insulated cooler or a heavy
cardboard box with a cold
source such as frozen gel
packs. Write “Keep refrigerat-
ed” on the outside of the pack-
age. Put handling instructions
on the food itself, too. It’s best
to specify overnight delivery
and to notify the recipient of its
expected arrival. Send pack-
ages early in the week so they
don’t sit in the post office over
the weekend.
It may be wise to send non-
perishable foods instead, such
Tips given for safe holiday shopping
Since the holiday season is
just around the corner, here are
some safety tips on how to
avoid becoming a victim of
crime. When you are shopping:
• Avoid shopping alone. Take
a friend or a relative to help you
carry bags or packages.
• Park in a well-lighted
space, and be sure to lock the
car, close the windows, and
hide shopping bags and gifts in
the trunk.
• Avoid carrying large
amounts of cash; pay with
check or credit card whenever
possible.
• Always be aware of your
surroundings. Don’t be easily
distracted; know where your
shopping bags, packages, or
other personal items are at all
times. If you carry a purse or
handbag, do not to leave it un-
attended.
• Shopping with kids? Teach
them to go to a store clerk or
security guard if you get sepa-
rated.
• When walking back to your
automobile, have your lock key
ready. Avoid having to look for it
in your handbag. When park-
ing, try to park near or as close
as possible to the store en-
trance.
• Check under and around
the car and the back seat be-
fore getting in.
• Do not leave shopping
bags exposed in your car while
unattended.
• If you think are you being
followed, call 911 from your cell
phone or drive to a public place
or a police, sheriff, or fire sta-
tion.
In the event of credit card
theft, notify your bank(s) imme-
diately. It is recommended that
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you close your accounts and
obtain new account numbers. If
your credit card(s) were stolen,
call your credit card issuer im-
mediately. Get replacement
cards with new account num-
bers. Ask that old accounts be
processed as “account closed
at consumer's request.” This is
better than “card lost or stolen,”
because when these state-
ments are reported to the cred-
it bureaus, they can be inter-
preted as blaming you for the
loss. Follow up in writing; this
protects you in case of a dis-
pute with the credit card issuer.
Call the fraud units of the
three credit reporting compa-
nies: Experian 1-800- 301-
7195, Equifax 1-800-525-6285
and Trans Union 1-800-680-
7289. Ask that your accounts
be flagged and a victim’s state-
ment be added to your report -
This is a must.
Source: Oregon State Extension
Service
as quick breads, fruitcakes,
cookies, candies, seasoned or
candied nuts, dry snack mixes,
and
seasoning
mixtures.
Canned products, including
jams and jellies, require careful
packaging. Leave screw bands
on jars. Make sure you use up-
to-date, tested methods for
canning products. For an extra
margin of safety, recipients can
boil low-acid home-canned
food (meats, fish, poultry, veg-
etables) for 10 minutes before
eating, to destroy botulism, a
deadly foodborne illness. Safe
home-canning
procedures
haven’t been determined for
many home-canned products
such as mustards, so refriger-
ate instead.
Source: Carolyn Raab, Extension
food and nutrition specialist, Ore-
gon State University
Fight holiday depression
by the American Counseling
Association
While the holiday season is
usually one of joy, happiness
and celebration, for many peo-
ple the emotion of the season
is often depression. Fortunate-
ly, it doesn’t have to be that
way. Many of the things that
leave us feeling depressed are
things we can control.
For example, the constant
stream of media and advertis-
ing holiday images contributes
to depression for many people.
Comparing our own lives to
these unrealistic images of hol-
iday perfection, it’s easy to feel
left out, inadequate, or as if we
aren’t getting all that’s due us.
There’s no avoiding the holi-
day media/advertising blitz, but
it’s easy to accept that what
we’re being shown isn’t reality,
it’s make-believe. We don’t
have to compete with that.
Eating healthier and getting
enough rest is another way to
fight holiday blues. Holiday
foods usually mean too many
rich, high-calorie party tempta-
tions, treats loaded with sugar,
and opportunities to drink too
much. Toss in a busy holiday
schedule and it’s easy to feel
tired, unhealthy, overweight
and generally depressed.
So should you just avoid all
those holiday foods? Actually,
no, since that can leave you
feeling deprived and more like-
ly to finally over-indulge. In-
stead, use common sense and
moderation. Limit alcohol con-
sumption and enjoy your fa-
vorite holiday foods, but in rea-
sonable-sized portions and
without going back for sec-
onds.
And don’t forget exercise.
It’s often ignored in busy holi-
day schedules, yet studies
show that even small or moder-
ate amounts of exercise can lift
your spirits. It’s also a great
way to burn those extra calo-
ries of the season.
Lastly, don’t let depression
rule your life. Holiday socializ-
ing is a great way to combat
the blues. Make the effort to go
and meet people at a party, or
just call up a friend to go for
coffee and talk about interest-
ing things. Spend time with oth-
ers and refocus your thinking
on positive things you enjoy.
Eating right, exercising, tak-
ing a realistic view of the holi-
day madness and having an
active social life all take effort,
but they’re all essential to help-
ing you enjoy the holiday sea-
son. Even small efforts in
these areas can help you feel
better physically and mentally.
But if you find nothing
seems to help fight that holiday
depression, talk to a counsel-
ing professional.
They’re
trained to help you work
through and cope with these
feelings.
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