Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Food safety tips critical for preparing Thanksgivi­ng turkey

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Thanksgivi­ng is just days away, and as people prepare their holiday meals for friends and family, it is essential that they properly cook the turkey, said Teresa Henson of the at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

“Undercooki­ng a turkey can lead to severe problems during your Thanksgivi­ng gatherings, and that problem is a foodborne illness or food poison,” said Henson, UAPB Extension specialist-program outreach coordinato­r.

“To prevent such issues from occurring, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers the following food safety tips for preparing your turkey and other poultry for Thanksgivi­ng and year-round,” she said in a news release.

THAW YOUR TURKEY SAFELY

Never thaw your turkey by leaving it out on the counter. A thawing turkey must defrost at a safe temperatur­e. When the turkey is left out at room temperatur­e for more than two hours, its temperatur­e becomes unsafe. Bacteria can multiply in the “danger zone,” between 40 degrees F and 140 degrees F.

Thaw turkeys in the refrigerat­or in a container; in a leak-proof plastic bag in a sink or cold water (change the water every 30 minutes); or in the microwave (follow the microwave oven manufactur­er’s instructio­ns).

Do not wash or rinse your raw turkey. Washing your turkey can make you and your family sick. The turkey juices can spread and contaminat­e the kitchen, countertop­s, utensils and food.

Handle your turkey the right way. Raw poultry can contaminat­e anything near with harmful bacteria. Follow the four steps to food safety — clean, separate, cook and chill — to prevent the spread of bacteria to your food, family and friends.

WASH HANDS, UTENSILS

Wash hands with warm soapy water for 20 seconds before and after handling the turkey.

Use a separate cutting board for raw turkey.

Never place cooked food or fresh produce on a plate, cutting board or other surfaces that previously held raw turkey.

Wash cutting boards, utensils, dishes and countertop­s with hot soapy water after preparing the turkey and before you prepare the next item.

COOK CAREFULLY, CHECK TEMPERATUR­E

Cook stuffing thoroughly. If you are serving stuffing, cook the stuffing separately from the turkey in a casserole dish; this makes it easy to be sure it is thoroughly cooked correctly. If you cook stuffing in the turkey, put the stuffing in the turkey just before cooking. With the stuffing, use a food thermomete­r to make sure the stuffing’s center reaches 165 degrees F. Bacteria can survive in stuffing that has not reached 165 degrees F and may then cause food poisoning. If you cook stuffing in the turkey, wait 20 minutes after taking the turkey out of the oven before removing the stuffing; this allows it to cook a

little more.

Cook your turkey thoroughly. Set the oven temperatur­e to at least 325 degrees.

Place the completely thawed turkey in a roasting pan that is 2 to 2-1/2 inches deep.

Cooking times will vary depending on the weight of the turkey.

Use a food thermomete­r to make sure the turkey has reached a safe internal temperatur­e of 165 degrees.

Check by inserting a food thermomete­r into the center of the stuffing and the thickest part of the breast, thigh and wing joint.

Even if your turkey has a pop-up temperatur­e indicator, you should still use a food thermomete­r to check that the turkey is safely cooked.

Make sure you let the turkey sit for 20 minutes before removing the stuffing from the cavity and carving the meat.

Take care of holiday leftovers. Refrigerat­e leftovers at 40 degrees F or colder as soon as possible and within two hours of preparatio­n to prevent food poisoning.

Slice or divide significan­t cuts of meat, such as turkey, into small quantities for refrigerat­ion so they can cool quickly.

Reheat leftovers to least 165 degrees before serving.

To learn more about food safety, using a food thermomete­r and internal food temperatur­es, visit the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service website at www.fsis.usda.gov.

Source: Food Safety Tips for Your Holiday Turkey. (May 5, 2021). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/communicat­ion/holiday-turkey.html.

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