Food safety tips for this holiday season
Christmas-themed cups on display at a vendor's booth in the Winter Market during the Christmas Celebration on Friday, Dec. 6, in downtown Mount Pleasant. The marketplace featured local artisans, holiday treats and local food vendors. (CM-Life | Soli Gordon)
The holiday season approaches not just with the frigid cold, but with the warm, savory grace of your favorite foods and drinks. But if you’re cooking for the holidays, the best thing you can do for yourself, and potential guests, is to cook safely. Here are some tips from the Central Michigan District Health Department:
Personal Hygiene and Allergies
The first step in not poisoning (accidentally) your guests is to make sure not to carry harmful bacteria from other surfaces or substances onto the food that you are readying.
The CMDHD's first step before any food preparation is to wash the hands thoroughly with soap for at least 20 seconds to kill bacteria and prevent them from leeching on and spreading from contact to food.
Also, before any food is prepared, consider your guests. Milk, peanuts, seafood and shell food are the more common and perhaps the easiest to avoid or replace in dish. It's a common courtesy that truly can save a life. Speaking from the experience of having brother who is extremely allergic to peanuts and their products that have even a tiny little amount of it, peanuts, in any way or shape can't exist in our home.
Food Preparation
Knowing that many kitchens become a spontaneous hub of activity with lots going forth and back especially with family and food in the mix, mistakes can happen. Sometimes one may even get a little too hungry.
Raw animal products such as poultry, seafood and eggs often contain harmful bacteria such as E. coli, Salmonella and Campylobacter that produce foodborne illnesses. Keep raw meats, poultry, seafood and eggs separate from ready-to-eat foods like salads or cooked dishes to prevent cross-contamination between dishes that require different temperatures to kill harmful bacteria, CMDHD wrote in a press release.
To kill any harmful bacteria in egg specifically, CMDHD recommended cooking until both the yolk and white are firm and preferably use pasteurized eggs and egg products to mitigate the risk even further..
CMDHD also recommended using separate cutting boards and utensils for raw and cooked foods and never place cooked food back on a plate that held raw items.
Food Storage
Now, what do you with all this food? Whether you're groaning at the sight of it dreading the cooking of it or you're in the bliss of a warm plate sitting on lap, that food has got to go somewhere and safety.
CMDHD wrote that the process of thawing frozen food, in particular meat, can leave you vulnerable to illness if not done properly. Here are some tips:
- Thaw in the refrigerator rather than on a countertop to avoid being in the temperature danger zone where bacteria can grow.
- Keep the refrigerator at or below 40 degrees safeguards perishable food safety as well.
- Look out for how leftovers should be stored inside within two hours after, and when reheating, make sure it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees to kill any bacteria.
Now, kick back, be prepared to relax after all the food is done and indulge in the awesomeness of savoring good food and being with family.
