Holiday food safety reminders - Avoiding cross contamination in the kitchen.

It's food safety month. With all the holiday food preparations for large groups it is easy to forget some good food safety habits. We are defrosting foods, preparing some foods early, other foods are sitting out for periods of time. To help you keep your foods germ free, here is a list of some key reminders:

• Take the time during meal prep to wash your hands and wrists with soap and water for 20 seconds. This is a good practice for your kids during meal prep.
• In the refrigerator, store turkey and other raw foods that will be cooked on the bottom shelves and ready-to-eat foods on the top shelves.
• Put turkey or roasts in a rimmed pan to catch any leaking juices.
• Designate separate cutting boards for raw meats or clean and sanitize cutting boards between uses for different foods.
• Clean and sanitize knives between uses on different foods and place only sanitized knives back in their racks.
• Sanitize any utensil, equipment or food contact surface after it has been in contact with raw foods, especially meat or eggs.
• Never move boxes or containers that may have been stored on the floor onto countertops.
• Purchase your perishable foods no more than 5 days before your holiday feast.
• Place leftover foods in air-tight containers in the fridge within 2 hours after removing from the stove or oven (bacteria start to multiply rapidly after 2 hours).
• Similarly, heat up leftovers to their proper temperature.
• Eat leftovers within 3-4 days.
• Freeze or throw away any leftovers that are still in your fridge after 4 days.

Printable Tip Sheet - Preventing food poisoning on Thanksgiving

Preparing your turkey safely - Guidelines for buying, storing, and thawing your turkey for the holidays

Food safety during holiday season

Family holiday safety tips for a happy, healthy ans safe holiday

Other Helpful Holiday Safety Tips:

http://holidayfoodsafety.org/