Health Department Offers Thanksgiving Food Safety Tips

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, the Will County Health Department is reminding residents to take precautions this holiday season to protect loved ones from food-borne Illnesses.

The CDC estimates that every year 48 million people get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 pass away from a food-borne illness. The most common symptoms of food-borne illness include diarrhea, stomach pain or cramps, vomiting, fever, and other flu-like symptoms. Symptoms can begin anywhere from hours to days after consuming contaminated food or drinks and can last anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Staying hydrated is important when you have diarrhea and vomiting. Those at risk of more severe and even life-threatening food-borne illness include older adults, infants, young children, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems. If you become severely ill, or if you are at risk for more severe disease, seek care from a medical provider to ensure a proper diagnosis and treatment.

“Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful and celebrate with our family and friends, sharing in a fabulous feast,” said Sean Conners, Will County Health Department’s Environmental Health Division Director. “We want to ensure you prepare and serve the meal using sound food safety principles. To make sure this happens, you will need to do some advance planning. Hosting a party for family and friends can be overwhelming and stressful. Adding a complex meal with lots of components may lead to unintended consequences, such as a food-borne illness. The Will County Health Department wants to help reduce that stress by providing residents with some basic food safety principles that will help you prepare your meal safely.”

When it comes to food safety and preparation, the CDC offers valuable advice on how to safely cook a turkey and avoid serious food-borne illnesses, such as salmonella. The first step is to safely thaw the bird. When a turkey begins to thaw, any bacteria present before freezing can begin to grow again. This is why food safety experts recommend thawing turkeys in the refrigerator. It takes about 24 hours for every five pounds of turkey to thaw in the refrigerator, so it can take three days to thaw a 15-pound bird. If you don’t have time to use the refrigerator, you can thaw it in a sink of cold water (change water every 30 minutes), or in the microwave. Never thaw your turkey by leaving it out on the counter. Get more information on safely thawing a turkey from the USDA at https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food- handling-and-preparation/poultry/turkey-basics-safe-thawing.

After the turkey is thawed, there are four main steps for food safety:

• Clean – Wash your hands with soap and water before, during, and after preparing food, especially before and after handling the turkey.
• Separate – Raw turkey and its juice can contaminate anything they touch. Be sure to handle your turkey correctly to prevent harmful germs from spreading to other food or to your family and friends. Use one cutting board for raw turkey and a separate cutting board for produce, bread, and other foods that won’t be cooked. Wash cutting boards, utensils, dishes, and countertops with hot soapy water after preparing raw turkey and before you prepare the next item.
• Cook – Use a food thermometer to check if the turkey and stuffing have reached a safe internal temperature of 165° F. Even if your turkey has a pop-up timer, you should still use a food thermometer to check it is safely cooked. Take the temperature in three places – the thickest part of the breast, the innermost part of the thigh, and the innermost part of the wing. For stuffing, make sure the stuffing’s center reaches 165°F. If you cooked the stuffing in your turkey, wait 20 minutes after taking the bird out of the oven before removing the stuffing. This allows the stuffing to cook a little longer.
• Chill – Do not leave foods at room temperature more than two hours. After you are done eating, divide the remaining food into small containers and either refrigerate or freeze. Leftovers are safe in the refrigerator for up to four days. Reheat all leftovers to at least 165° F before serving or eating.

The CDC’s food safety website can be found at www.cdc.gov/foodsafety and the CDC’s page on preparing your holiday turkey safely can be found at: www.cdc.gov/food-safety/foods/ holiday-turkey.html.

More information on food safety during the holidays can be found on the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) website at: https://dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/food -safety/holidays.html.