Food safety: A holiday tradition everyone can enjoy

The winter holiday season is here — a time for potlucks, office parties and family gatherings where meals are shared and memories are made. Ensure those memories are full of holiday cheer — and not the wrong side of a throne room — by keeping some important things in mind when handling food. Following these tips could ensure the holidays are free of food-borne illness. 

— Keep foods separated. Meat, chicken, turkey, seafood and eggs should be separated from all other foods in grocery carts and in the refrigerator. Make sure perishable foods are chilled within two hours of shopping. Meat, poultry and seafood should be kept in containers or in sealed plastic bags to prevent drippings from getting into other foods. 

To protect eggs from breaking and contaminating ready-to-eat food, keep them in their original carton. Additionally, raw turkey should be stored on the lowest shelf possible in the refrigerator to prevent contamination of other foods.

— Keep food out of the danger zone. The food danger zone is between 40 F and 140 F, when bacteria can grow rapidly. After food is prepared, keep hot food hot and cold food cold. Within two hours after serving, perishable foods need to be either refrigerated or frozen. The refrigerator temperature should be set at or below 40 F and the freezer at or below 0 F.

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