Let’s Talk Turkey!

With the holiday season approaching, many people are getting ready to prepare feasts for family and friends. Here are some tips to ensure a safe holiday meal:

Turkey tips

• Wash hands before and after handling food to prevent the spread of food-borne illness.
• Thaw your turkey in the refrigerator. Allow five hours per pound for thawing at 4°C (40°F). If thawing in cold water, leave the turkey in the original package and submerge it in cold tap water, allow 30 minutes per pound. Remember to change the water every 30 minutes.
• Cook turkey to 82°C (180°F). Use a probe thermometer to check the internal temperature of the thickest part of the turkey (i.e. thigh).
• Separate cooked foods from raw foods. Use separate cutting boards and utensils for raw and cooked food. Sauces that are used to marinate raw poultry should not be used on cooked foods.
• Cook stuffing separately. Cook stuffing in a casserole and bake it in the oven to an internal temperature of 74°C (165°F). If you choose to cook the stuffing in the turkey, prepare the stuffing immediately before it is placed inside the turkey; stuff it loosely into the cavity and breast.
• Refrigerate leftovers. Turkey should not be left at room temperature for more than two hours, so refrigerate or freeze leftovers in shallow containers as soon as possible and use them within 2-3 days.
• Clean up carefully. Avoid cross contamination by washing and sanitizing anything the raw turkey or its juices have touched. Use bleach and water solution for sanitizing (1 tsp. of bleach per 1 liter of water).
• Reheat to original cooking temperature. If you want hot turkey leftovers, reheat to 82°C (180°F).

Other Food Safety Tips for the Holidays

• Baked Goods: Be sure that baked goods are well cooked and never eat raw cookie dough, batters or frostings containing raw egg, as raw eggs may contain salmonella, a bacterium that causes foodborne illness.
• Eggnog: When making homemade eggnog, heat the egg and milk mixture to a minimum of 710C (1600F). After heating, pour the eggnog into smaller containers for accelerated cooling and refrigerate. Using pasteurized egg and milk products, or buying ready made eggnog (already pasteurized) ensures that harmful bacteria are removed.
• Cider: Read product labels to determine if cider has been pasteurized. Consumption of unpasteurized cider should be done with caution and individuals that are at high risk for foodborne illness are seniors, children and those that are immunocompromised.

For additional food safety information, please call Region of Waterloo Public Health, Food safety Program, 519-883-2008, or visit our website at www.region.waterloo.on.ca/ph.

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Media contact: Rebecca Piovesan, Public Health Inspector, 519-883-2008 Ext. 3486