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Borough council issues tips and help on food safety for Christmas

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HINCKLEY and Bosworth Borough Council has released Food Standards Agency tips in order to avoid the unwanted gift of food poisoning this Christmas.

An estimated one million cases of food poisoning are found in the UK every year and without attention to food hygiene, this does not stop during the festive season.

To save your loved ones from a nasty bout of food poisoning over the holidays, these top tips should allow you to continue the festivities without a trip to the doctors;

1. When Christmas food shopping, take sufficient bags with you so that you can separate out raw and readyto-eat foods to avoid cross contamination.

2. Check the guidance on your turkey to ensure you have enough time to fully defrost it - it could take as much as four days.

3. Don’t wash raw turkey; it just splashes germs onto your hands, clothes, utensils and worktops.

4. To work out the cooking time for your bird, check the instructions on the packaging. Check that: the meat is steaming hot throughout; there is no pink meat visible when you cut into the thickest part and meat juices run clear.

5. Whether you cooked your turkey from frozen or fresh, your turkey leftovers can be used to make a new meal (such as turkey curry).

This new meal can be frozen, but make sure you only reheat it once.

Executive member for Environmental Services at Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, Councillor Kevin Morrell, commented: “Cooking a Christmas roast for a large gathering can be a challenge and it is vital that the turkey, or other meat of the meal, is stored, defrosted and cooked correctly.

“Likewise, leftovers from Christmas need to be reheated and consumed within specific time frames in order to avoid food poisoning.

“This is why the Borough Council are supporting the Food Standards Agency in helping you to relive some of the stress of preparing your Christmas meal and to keep your family safe during the festive period.”

Adam Hardgrave, Head of Foodborne Disease Control at the Food Standards Agency, added: “The four Cs of food hygiene: Chilling, Cleaning, Cooking and avoiding Crosscontamination are important throughout the year, but especially at Christmas.

“In the flurry of preparing the Christmas meal, it’s important to remember to plan ahead to allow plenty of time.”

For more information on food safety visit the website at www.food.gov. uk/seasons-eatings.