AgriLife tips for a food-safe holiday

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Food Safety

As Thanksgiving wraps up, Christmas is still on the horizon and many will face their favorite time of the holiday season: leftovers. However, there are a few food safety tips to keep your turkey and stuffing edible and delicious once the meal is over, according to the AgriLife extension office.

A new rule AgriLife would like Hopkins County to know is it is not technically safe to defrost a turkey-- or other kinds of meat for that matter-- in the sink or on the counter overnight. As soon as the thawing process reaches over 40 degrees Fahrenheit, your turkey becomes susceptible to growing bacteria. Therefore, thawing foods should be done ahead of time in a refrigerator, or not left out for more than two hours.

This is especially important over the holidays because turkeys, like all poultry, are more likely to have Salmonella and campylobacter pathogens. Just like chicken, when preparing turkey a holiday chef should disinfect surfaces and utensils between use to help avoid cross-contamination and foodborne illness.

Leafy greens are also a source of foodborne illness, as noted on Nov. 22 when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a recall of romaine lettuce. Infected with Escherichia coli or E. coli bacteria, the lettuce originating out of Salinas, California has now been linked to at least 40 cases of illness nationwide, mainly in Colorado.

To help mitigate dangers from leafy greens, always wash them in your home, even if you buy packaged, pre-washed greens, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

Ultimately, the biggest source of foodborne illness is bacteria that lives on human hands, so the most important part of holiday food prep is to wash your hands often. If your hands are clean, viruses and bacteria have a hard time getting on to food, so wash between each separate dish you’re preparing.

Freezing any leftovers is a great way to cut down on food waste and avoid spoiling. According to AgriLife, refrigerate food within two hours of eating to avoid it entering the “danger zone,” room temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees Farenheit where bacteria proliferate.

Although the holidays can be stressful, food preparation and safety doesn’t have to be!