Holiday Food Safety Prep!

JANE’S NUTRITION TIPS

Let the Holiday Food Safety Prep Begin! 

Food Safety Starts With You:

You’ve heard it before; wash your hands before touching any foods. This is a simple way to keep germs from spreading to food. Wash your hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds. Remember to keep your hands clean throughout the preparation process, especially between handling raw and cooked foods.

Storage:

When storing ingredients in your fridge, keep raw foods separate from cooked and ready-to-eat foods. Storing raw foods such as the uncooked turkey on the bottom shelf of your fridge is an easy way to ensure turkey juices do not drip onto other foods.

Holiday Buffets:

During the holidays, potlucks and buffets are very popular. There are a few things that you should remember so the food you, your family and your friends are consuming is safe.

  • Cook food to the safe internal temperature, and serve it immediately after it has reached this temperature.
  • Keep hot foods hot (at least 60°C /140°F and above). This can be done by using warming trays, chafing dishes or crock pots.
  • Keep cold foods cold (at or below 4°C /40°F). This can be done by putting the serving trays on crushed ice.
  • Throw away any food that has been sitting on the buffet table in the temperature danger zone (between 4°C and 60°C) for more than 2 hours.
  • Remember to provide serving utensils for every dish on the buffet table to prevent guests from using their fingers.

The Best Part: Leftovers!

Everyone looks forward to leftovers from big feasts.

After the foods have been served quickly store in uncovered, shallow containers. This will help the food cool more quickly.

Eat the refrigerated leftovers within 2 to 3 days or freeze the food instead.

The fridge can become overstocked very quickly with leftovers; be sure that the cool air in the fridge can still circulate.

Hot leftovers need to be reheated to at least 74°C (165°F) before consuming. Check out this food temperature chart link to verify your food is fully cooked.

Make food safety your most important ingredient during the holidays by planning ahead!

Jane Dummer, RD, is a leading dietitian for the Canadian food and nutrition industry and a long-time resident of Waterloo region. Jane offers services for corporations and media, specializing in agri-food, functional foods and workplace nutrition and wellness. Follow Jane on Twitter @janedummer and subscribe to her Grow with Nutrition Blog.

It’s never too late to eat healthy!