Please Pass the Salmonella: Health Experts Warn of Thanksgiving Food Poisoning Risks
On Thanksgiving, millions of families gather around the table for a huge feast of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and all the trimmings to celebrate and give thanks for all they have. Unfortunately, the favorite holiday meal is more likely to leave Thanksgiving guests with a potentially serious case of food poisoning, Canadian health experts warn.
The problem is, most home cooks people are not accustomed to preparing a large turkey and enough other dishes to feed a small army like they do on Thanksgiving. That leads to greater risks of improper preparation, handling, and storage of food resulting in food poisoning, according to food experts at Toronto’s Ryerson University cited in a UPI news report.
Food poisoning caused by salmonella, E. coli, and other forms of foodborne bacteria are blamed for sickening millions of people in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Thousands more people die as the result of food poisoning, particularly the frail and elderly, young children, and people with weakened immune systems.
Watch that Bird!
Under cooked or mishandled turkey can spread potentially deadly bacteria through a kitchen and contaminate the entire Thanksgiving meal, officials said. To help reduce the risks of contamination, the university experts advise dinner hosts and anyone handling the food to wash their hands thoroughly after handling raw turkey. Also, surfaces such as cutting boards and countertops should be thoroughly cleaned after they come into contact with uncooked turkey or raw turkey juices.
Using a cleaning solution of one teaspoon of bleach in a gallon of water is recommended.
The Canadian university experts also give the following advice to prevent a Thanksgiving food poisoning disaster:
• Thaw frozen turkey two to three days ahead of time in the refrigerator.
• Utensils can be cleaned in a dishwasher or with a chlorine solution.
• Use a meat thermometer to monitor cooking. Insert it in the center of the thickest part of the bird. The temperature should read at least 180 F (82 C) for 15 seconds before the bird is ready to serve.
• Prepare stuffing outside the bird and measure its temperature. Stuffing prepared on the stove top is preferable because stuffing inside the bird creates a larger mass to cook.
• After eating, take the remaining meat off the bird and store in a shallow container in the refrigerator. Don’t put an entire carcass into the refrigerator — it won’t cool down quickly enough.
Related posts:
- Seafood Recall: Bacteria May Cause Food Poisoning Mackerel from a New York City food company is being...
- Roaches, Bacteria Found Inside Airline Food Facility We’ve all heard the jokes about how bad airline food...
- Salmonella Fears Prompt Another Ground Beef Recall A California meat processor has recalled more than 20,000 pounds...
- EPA Investigating Possible Health Risks of Weed Killer Atrazine The Environmental Protection Agency is looking the possible health risks...
- FDA Offers New Way for Industry Reporting of Possible Food Poisoning Cases Food industry officials now have a new, electronic way to...
