Safety Tips To Avoid Food Poisoning During Thanksgiving Hoosier Ag Today

"Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, chills. It doesn't sound like a very fun Thanksgiving at all. To avoid all of this, avoid those big no-nos for Thanksgiving dinner from Meredith Carothers and the USDA Meat and Poultry hotline. The first big no-go is thawing your turkey at room temperature.

"The longer a product, especially raw turkey, stays at room temperature, the greater the likelihood that bacteria will grow and bacteria can form heat-resistant toxins that the cooking process won't remove. So if you eat them, they can basically make you sick. A big no-go is thawing at room temperature.

So if you thawed the poultry at room temperature instead of starting the process in the refrigerator a few days ago, you may want to plant them.

The next big no-go is, "Don't disinfect or clean your surfaces after that raw turkey has been there."

It could be bacteria in the turkey and in the juices. If they touched something else (the counter, the sink, the dishes, their hands, whatever) these bacteria could be found all over the kitchen and possibly in salads or other dishes.

Another big no-go, according to Carothers, is not using a food thermometer and just relying on the pop-up timer found on some turkeys. You also can't trust the look of the turkey. This pop-up timer can tell you that the turkey has reached the safe temperature of 165 degrees in that particular spot which is killing bacteria, but maybe not the entire turkey.

"We really recommend monitoring the temperature in the thickest part of the chest, the innermost part of the wing, and the innermost part of the thigh," says Carothers.

And one of the best things about Thanksgiving dinner is that there are usually lots of leftovers to eat on the weekend, but not if you leave them on for too long.

"2 hours is the maximum time you are allowed outside. "

If you have any questions about how to prepare your bird, the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline is available from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving. You can visit ask.usda.gov or call 888-MPHOTLINE.

Source: USDA press service

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