BURLINGTON, VT — With the holiday season here, parents have been cooking up lots of questions about food safety.
Here are a few best practices to stay healthy, according to Lewis First, MD, is Chief of Pediatrics at The University of Vermont Children’s Hospital and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine.
Nothing can end a joyous holiday visit from friends and family than if your guests or your own family members get sick from the foods you have cooked or served to them.
Therefore, the name of the game is food safety. Here are some best practices:
• Wash your hands frequently and have your children do the same if they want to help you with the cooking.
• Always cook meats and poultry fully and wash all raw vegetables and fruits with running water to remove any pesticide residue, dirt or bacteria.
• If buying packaged meat, poultry or fish, check the expiration date on the label and make sure the dates are still valid.
• In your refrigerator, keep raw foods and cooked foods separate and use separate utensils when preparing them.
• Meat should always be thawed in a refrigerator and not on the countertop and foods that require refrigeration should never be left out at room temperature for more than two hours.
• Never put cooked meat in a dish that was holding raw meat, poultry or fish. Don’t let raw eggs sit at room temperature for more than two hours to reduce the risk of salmonella.
• Use a paper towel and not a dish towel after handling raw meat, poultry, fish or eggs. Bacteria could spread from one person to another using dish towels.
• If young children are around when you are cooking, keep hot foods away from edges of tables or counters so they are not accidentally knocked over. Turn pot handles toward the back of the stove to avoid a scald or burn injury.
• As for leftovers, eat them within three to four days or throw them out if they have been around longer than that.
Hopefully, tips like these will not spoil your holiday and lead to safe cooking so the ho ho hos do not become food poisoning woe-woe-woes.