Poison Center Says, Be Food Safety Smart
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in six Americans will get sick from dangerous food borne bacteria this year. Safe food handling in the kitchen is an important part of any holiday food prep and the Wyoming Poison Center wants to share a couple tips to prevent food borne illness.
Poison Center Spokesperson, Joan Mcvoy says first off, make sure kitchen helpers wash their hands thoroughly before and after handling food, especially raw turkey. "And then everybody just likes to leave the food out all day and people just sort of graze and go up to the table, but really all that food should go back in the refrigerator and not sit more than two hours out on the counter."
Mcvoy points out that your turkey should already be defrosting-if your reading this on Tuesday and its not, its too late- in order that it's ready to be cooked on Thursday. She recommends using a meat thermometer and baking that turkey to 165 degrees. Leftovers, she says, should be eaten or frozen within 3 to 4 days.