Tips on food safety to keep your holiday a healthy one!

Caroline Sellers/KFOR
·2 min read

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) is sharing some tips to avoid foodborne illness this holiday season.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about one in six Americans contract a foodborne illness every year. The symptoms can include nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea.

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The OSDH has some food safety tips when preparing holiday meals to avoid the tummy troubles:

  • Clean: Wash hands with soap and warm water for 20 seconds before, during and after handling food. Wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils and counter tops with hot soapy water after preparing each food item and before you go on to the next food.

  • Separate: Germs that cause illness can spread from raw food to other foods. Use separate cutting boards and keep raw meats and their juices away from fruits and vegetables.

  • Cook: Always check the internal temperature of cooked meat, poultry and egg dishes with a food thermometer to ensure the food is cooked to a safe temperature. For more information, please visit the Safe Minimum Cooking Chart.

  • Chill: Be safe with leftovers. Refrigerate leftover foods promptly. When foods are left out unrefrigerated, harmful germs multiply quickly. Discard any food left out more than two hours.

  • Illness: Anyone who has been sick with diarrhea or vomiting should not prepare food for at least 24 hours after symptoms have stopped.

The OSDH also has tips for preparing your Thanksgiving turkey:

  • Thaw: Allow enough time for a frozen turkey to defrost. Turkey, thawed incorrectly, may look safe to eat but will be undercooked, allowing illness-causing germs to survive inside. For more information about how to properly thaw a turkey based on weight and time in the refrigerator, in cold water, or using the microwave, please visit Safe Holiday Cooking.

  • Cook: Use a meat thermometer to ensure the internal temperature of the turkey is at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit. For stuffed turkeys, the internal temperature of the stuffing must reach 165 degrees before it is safe to eat; however, the safest way to cook stuffing is to cook in a separate casserole dish.

  • Store: After preparing the meal, refrigerate remaining foods and leftover turkey within two hours. Eat leftover turkey, stuffing and gravy within three to four days. Reheat leftover gravy to a rolling boil, and thoroughly reheat other leftovers to 165 degrees.

For more holiday food safety tips, visit Oklahoma.gov/health.

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