Avoid Guessing About Holiday Food Safety

 

 

During the coming holidays, thoughts turn to family, food, and finding enough time to fit everything in! Food safety may take a back seat as we take short cuts, prepare foods ahead, cook late into the night, and host numerous holiday feasts.

Before you cook the turkey, set up the buffet, or start making holiday goodies, see how you do on this holiday food safety quiz, based on information from the USDA and the Food and Drug Administration:

 

a. 24 hours per each 1–2 pounds of turkey

b. 24 hours per each 4–5 pounds of turkey

c. 24 hours per each 6–7 pounds of turkey

B. What is a safe internal temperature for cooking a whole turkey?

a. 145°F

b. 155°F

c. 165°F

C. Which of the following are important practices to follow if stuffing a turkey?

a. Do not mix wet and dry ingredients for a stuffing until just before stuffing the bird

b. Stuff the turkey loosely

c. Cook a stuffed turkey immediately

d. Use a food thermometer

e. b, c, and d

f. All of the above

D. What is the longest that perishable food should sit out at room temperature on a buffet table?

a. 2 hours

b. 3 hours

c. 4 hours

Now, let's see how well you did on the quiz.

A. Answer: b - Place the frozen bird in its original wrapper in the refrigerator (40°F or below). Allow approximately 24 hours per each 4–5 pounds of turkey. A thawed turkey can remain in the refrigerator for 1–2 days.

B. Answer: c - Use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of the turkey. A whole turkey is safe cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 165°F

throughout the bird. Check the internal temperature in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast. For reasons of personal preference, you may choose to cook turkey to a higher temperature. All turkey meat, including any that remains pink, is safe to eat as soon as all parts reach at least

165°F. The stuffing should reach 165°F, whether cooked inside the bird or in a separate dish. Let turkey stand 20 minutes after removing it from the oven.

 

 

 

 

 

 

COOKING TIME — UNSTUFFED

Size of Turkey Estimated Time to Reach 165°F

8–12 pounds 2¾–3 hours

12–14 pounds 3–3¾ hours

14–18 pounds 3¾–4¼ hours

18–20 pounds 4¼–4½ hours

20–24 pounds 4½–5 hours

COOKING TIME — STUFFED

Size of Turkey Estimated Time to Reach 165°F

8–12 pounds 3–3½ hours

12–14 pounds 3½–4 hours

14–18 pounds 4–4¼ hours

18–20 pounds 4¼–4¾ hours

20–24 pounds 4¾–5¼ hours

C. Answer: f - Cooking a home-stuffed turkey is riskier than cooking one not stuffed. Even if the turkey itself has reached the safe minimum internal temperature of 165°F as measured in the innermost part of the thigh, wing and thickest part of the breast, the stuffing may not have reached a temperature high enough to destroy bacteria that may be present.

D. Answer: a - Foods should not sit at room temperature for more than two hours. Keep track of how long foods have been sitting on the buffet table and discard anything there two hours or more.

Divide cooked foods into shallow containers to store in the refrigerator or freezer until serving. This encourages rapid, even cooling. Reheat hot foods to 165°F. Arrange and serve food on several small platters rather than on one large platter. Keep the rest of the food hot in the oven (set at 200–250°F) or cold in the refrigerator until serving time. This way foods will be held at a safe temperature for a longer period of time.

REPLACE empty platters rather than adding fresh food to a dish that already had food in it. Many people’s hands may have been taking food from the dish, which has also been sitting out at room temperature.

Hold hot foods at 140°F or warmer. On the buffet table you can keep hot foods hot with chafing dishes, slow cookers, and warming trays. Cold foods should be held at 40°F or colder. Keep foods cold by nesting dishes in bowls of ice. Otherwise, use small serving trays and replace them.

Closing Thought

Peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.

Johanna Hicks

Extension Family & Consumer Sciences Agent

Hopkins County

1200-B W. Houston

P.O. Box 518

Sulphur Springs, TX 75483

903-885-3443 - phone

903-439-4909 - fax

jshicks@ag.tamu.edu

 

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