Public information: Health officials urge food safety over holidays
Coconino County Health and Human Services (CCHHS) officials encourage consumers to take appropriate precautions in handling, preparing and cooking foods during the upcoming holiday season.
To ensure that the holiday foods are safe, follow these basic safety steps to avoid foodborne illness:
Clean: Wash hands and food-contact surfaces often. Bacteria and other organisms can spread from contaminated hands and other surfaces throughout the kitchen and get onto cutting boards, knives, sponges and counter tops.
Separate: Don’t cross-contaminate. Don’t let bacteria spread from one food product to another. Wash hands, cutting boards and utensils after they contact raw meats, poultry or eggs.
Cook: Cook to proper temperatures. Foods are properly cooked when they are heated for a long enough time and at a high enough temperature to kill the harmful bacteria that cause foodborne illness. Proper cooking temperatures of some foods include:
Fish steaks and beef steaks - 145 degrees or higher
Ground meat - 155 degrees or higher
Poultry (turkey) and stuffed food items - 165 degrees or higher
Chill: Refrigerate foods quickly because cold temperatures keep most harmful bacteria from growing and multiplying. Cool foods in smaller portions to lower the temperature quickly. Refrigerators should be set at 40 degrees and the freezer at zero degrees. The accuracy of the settings should be checked occasionally with a thermometer. The temperature danger zone between 40 to 140 degrees is optimal for rapid bacteria growth. Foods should be discarded if they are in this temperature danger zone for more than four hours. Discard food that has been in the refrigerator for more than seven days. When in doubt, throw it out.
Safely thaw turkey: To reduce the risk of foodborne illness, thawing the turkey completely in a refrigerator before cooking is important. If a turkey is not properly thawed, the bird will cook unevenly, and the inside will not be hot enough to destroy disease-causing bacteria.
Allow the correct amount of time to properly thaw and cook a whole turkey. For example, a 20-pound turkey needs two to three days to thaw completely in the refrigerator. Do not thaw a turkey by leaving it out on the counter or in the sink.
To check a turkey for doneness, insert a food thermometer into the inner thigh area near the breast of the turkey. The turkey is done when the temperature reaches 165 degrees. If the turkey is stuffed, the temperature of the stuffing should also be 165 degrees.
More information about food safety and additional cooking temperatures is available by visiting http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm092815.htm or call the Coconino County Health and Human Services Environmental Health program at 928-679-8750 or toll-free 877-679-7272.
- Verizon announces 5G Ultra Wideband across northern Arizona
- NAU Student Spotlight: Jayme Biakeddy
- Interior Secretary's Grand Canyon visit encourages tribes
- FBI investigating U.S. Border Patrol killing of Tohono O’odham citizen May 18
- Navajo Nation funds Gentle Ironhawk domestic violence shelter in Utah
- Tribes to receive $48 mil to repair and revitalize water systems
- Arizona, California and Nevada announce a plan to cut Colorado River usage for 3 years
- "Reservation Dogs" returns for season three this August
- "Human Kindness at it's Best": Havasupai Tribe helps hikers evacuate during Grand Canyon flooding
- City of Winslow proclaims May 5 as Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives Day
- Verizon announces 5G Ultra Wideband across northern Arizona
- Three-day flood experiment at the Grand Canyon aims to improve Colorado River
- NAU Student Spotlight: Jayme Biakeddy
- Indian National Finals Rodeo Tour Qualifier coming to Window Rock June 17-18
- Investigation underway for officer-involved shooting in Tuba City
- "Human Kindness at it's Best": Havasupai Tribe helps hikers evacuate during Grand Canyon flooding
- Winslow Levee to undergo reconstruction with funding from Arizona, Navajo County and Winslow
- Interior Secretary's Grand Canyon visit encourages tribes
- Iconic Las Vegas Strip Resort Casino Set for Surprise Demolition
- Navajo Nation leadership attends first phase of Little Colorado River adjudication trial
SUBMIT FEEDBACK
Click Below to: