Food safety in the kitchen for Thanksgiving

ALBANY, Ga. – As families prepare to gather around the table for Thanksgiving, ensuring food safety in the kitchen is more important than ever.

From raw poultry to fresh produce, mishandling food can lead to serious health risks. We spoke with the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to highlight the importance of proper food handling and preparation to ensure a safe holiday meal.

“When it comes to food safety, food safety is very important. Of course, if we just look at the statistics from the center for disease control. We know that each year we have 3000 deaths from foodborne illness and another 128,000 hospitalizations. This is especially true for at risk groups such as pregnant mothers, toddlers, elderly people, people with compromised immune systems. These groups tend to have a higher risk of having the more extreme symptoms of food borne illness,” said Kenneth King, USDA FSIS Public Affairs & Consumer Education.

The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) breaks down the illnesses that can result from unsafe food preparation practices.

“The specific foodborne illnesses, of course, we hear about salmonella, E.coli, and listeria has been in the news a lot lately. These can be life threatening illnesses. So, the important thing really is just to make sure that our food is being fully cooked and we can avoid all of these altogether,” said King.

The agency also shares essential steps to help families ensure their holiday meals are not only delicious, but also safe to enjoy.

“At the USDA at FSIS, we have four steps to food safety. And, these are clean, separate, cook and chill. You want to make sure you’re washing your hands for at least 20 seconds with soapy water. Unfortunately, a lot of people skip this step, but it’s super important to keep us safe, especially on big holidays like thanksgiving coming up. We’ll be shaking lots of hands. We want to make sure that we are washing our hands before we touch any food. The second step is is separate, and this is about avoiding cross-contamination when harmful bacteria from meat and poultry can contaminate or touch ready to eat foods like fruits and vegetables. So, one way to avoid cross-contamination is by using separate cutting boards. One cutting board for your raw meat, poultry, and another cutting board for your fruits and vegetables. The third step is cooking. When you are cooking raw meat and poultry. Each type of meat gets cooked to a certain temperature, and we want to make sure that our food is fully cooked. That way we don’t get sick when we eat it. And, because turkey is a large bird, you want to check the innermost part of the breast, the wing and the thigh to make sure it reaches 165 degrees internally. And, the last step is chill. And, this simply means to make sure any food that’s no longer being eaten is placed back in the refrigerator within 2 hours. If it’s sitting out at room temperature. Which is easier said than done, especially on Thanksgiving, where socializing, having a good time. But, you want to make sure that that food is being put back in the refrigerator if it has been sitting out at room temperature,” said King.

For more information on food recalls, cooking tips, or to speak with a food safety specialist, visit foodsafety.Gov or call USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 1-888-674-6854.

De’Andra Jacobs reporting.

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