The holiday season is here again. Soon many of us will be preparing and serving dinners to our friends and relatives. The Sweetwater County Environmental Health would like to take this opportunity to remind our residents of some food safety tips to avoid food borne illness.
Turkey dinner is probably most common during the holiday season. Turkey, chicken, eggs and other poultry food items are notoriously linked to salmonella bacteria, which can be destroyed by cooking to a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. It is foremost important to use a thermometer to check the internal temperature at a spot near the center of the bird. Try cooking stuffing on the side, instead of placing it inside the cavity. It is much more difficult to cook to a safe temperature with stuffing inside the center of the bird. Try to follow the old rule: hot food should be hot (135 degrees as the minimum hot-holding temperature) and cold food should be cold (41 degrees as the minimum cold-holding temperature). Time and temperature abuse, either before or after cooking, is one of the major factors contributing to food poisoning. Inevitably, many families will have leftovers. Leftovers should be refrigerated quickly. Most home refrigerators are not designed for cooling and holding large pieces of meat, so cutting meat into smaller chunks before refrigeration would help. Make sure not to overcrowd your home refrigerators, so cold air can circulate properly. Reheating or re-cooking of any leftovers should be to a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees. We should always employ good hygienic practice-such as washing hands, not using the same knife or cutting board for different kinds of food before sanitizing these utensils. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Sweetwater County Environmental Health at (307)352-6709 or (307)872-3930. We wish everyone a great holiday season.
Turkey dinner is probably most common during the holiday season. Turkey, chicken, eggs and other poultry food items are notoriously linked to salmonella bacteria, which can be destroyed by cooking to a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. It is foremost important to use a thermometer to check the internal temperature at a spot near the center of the bird. Try cooking stuffing on the side, instead of placing it inside the cavity. It is much more difficult to cook to a safe temperature with stuffing inside the center of the bird. Try to follow the old rule: hot food should be hot (135 degrees as the minimum hot-holding temperature) and cold food should be cold (41 degrees as the minimum cold-holding temperature). Time and temperature abuse, either before or after cooking, is one of the major factors contributing to food poisoning. Inevitably, many families will have leftovers. Leftovers should be refrigerated quickly. Most home refrigerators are not designed for cooling and holding large pieces of meat, so cutting meat into smaller chunks before refrigeration would help. Make sure not to overcrowd your home refrigerators, so cold air can circulate properly. Reheating or re-cooking of any leftovers should be to a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees. We should always employ good hygienic practice-such as washing hands, not using the same knife or cutting board for different kinds of food before sanitizing these utensils. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Sweetwater County Environmental Health at (307)352-6709 or (307)872-3930. We wish everyone a great holiday season.
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