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Have a Food-Safe Holiday Season
PRACTICE APPLICATIONS USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion Corner
Have a Food-Safe Holiday Season
L
AST YEAR, MORE THAN 46 million turkeys were carved and eaten at Thanksgiving. Turkey is typically accompanied by a host of side dishes and desserts, making the Thanksgiving meal by far one of the largest meals most people will cook this year. As registered dietitian nutritionists navigate the tricky waters of promoting healthy eating habits during the holiday season, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a wealth of resources available to help your clients make positive choices—both in terms of what they eat, and how they prepare and store it. In addition to the online tools and resources available through USDA’s ChooseMyPlate.gov, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) provides resources and tips for health care professionals to show people how to avoid getting sick from food poisoning this holiday season. The USDA/FSIS Thanksgiving online toolkit is your one-stop shop for holiday food safety information, providing articles on brining, stuffing turkeys, deep frying a turkey, properly storing leftovers, and preparing a bacteria-free Thanksgiving. Videos on why it’s not safe to wash a turkey are also available along with radio interviews, consumer fact sheets, and information on how to order free publications (including the Let’s Talk Turkey brochure) to distribute. Inform your clients that if the holiday meal becomes overwhelming, USDA has a toll-free hotline open on Thanksgiving Day from 8 AM to 2 PM ET,
This article was written by Tanya Brown, MBA, lead public affairs specialist, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Washington, DC; Angela Leone, MS, RDN, lead nutritionist, USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, Alexandria, VA; and Alexandra Day, special projects coordinator, Panum Group, Bethesda, MD. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2017.08.123
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with live food safety experts available to help in English and Spanish. Call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854). The hotline is open regularly from 10 AM to 6 PM ET, Monday through Friday. If you receive questions about keeping leftovers safe, point people to our convenient FoodKeeper app. Available on Android and Apple devices, the app provides storage timelines for the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry, for more than 500 products, including various types of baby food, dairy products and eggs, meat, poultry, produce, and seafood. Users can view instructional videos on proper handling and storage of food and can also select to receive recall information. The app is available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Speaking of leftovers, clients can find a variety of healthy, quick, and affordable recipes on What’s Cooking? USDA Mixing Bowl, at whatscooking.fns.usda. gov, to ensure their leftovers don’t go to waste. MyPlate’s Food 5 Ways infographics are a great way to teach clients about the five food groups. The protein foods infographic features leftover turkey in five different recipes. Find the 5 Ways infographics and more at www.ChooseMyPlate.gov/infographics. As your clients begin their holiday meal planning, be sure to share these food safety tips from USDA:
Wash Your Hands, but Skip Washing the Turkey: Believe it or not, washing your hands is one of the easiest ways to stop the spread of bacteria on to your food, while washing your turkey is the easiest way to spread bacteria all over your kitchen. According to the 2016 Food and Drug Administration Food Safety Survey, 68% of consumers wash poultry in the kitchen sink, which is not recommended by the USDA.1 Washing meat or poultry can splash bacteria around your kitchen up to 3 feet, contaminating countertops, towels, and
JOURNAL OF THE ACADEMY OF NUTRITION AND DIETETICS
other food. Washing doesn’t remove bacteria from the bird. Only cooking the turkey to the correct internal temperature will ensure all bacteria are killed. The exception to this rule is brining. When rinsing brine off of a turkey, be sure to remove all other food or objects from the sink, layer the area with paper towels, and use a slow stream of water to avoid splashing. Plan Ahead and Make Space in the Refrigerator: If buying a fresh turkey, purchase it 1 to 2 days before you plan to cook it and place it in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook. Do not buy fresh, pre-stuffed turkeys. If not properly handled, harmful bacteria that may be in the stuffing can multiply quickly. Frozen turkeys should be thawed in the refrigerator. Allow 24 hours for every 4 to 5 pounds. For example, if you purchase a 12- to 16-lb turkey, it will need 3 to 4 days to thaw in the refrigerator. Use a Food Thermometer: The only way to determine whether a turkey (or any meat, poultry, or seafood) is cooked to the correct internal temperature is to use a food thermometer. A whole turkey should be checked in three locations: the innermost part of the thigh, the innermost part of the wing, and the thickest part of the breast. Your thermometer should read 165 F in all three places. If one of those locations does not register at 165 F, then continue cooking until all three locations reach the correct internal temperature. Remember, you can’t tell if meat or poultry is safely cooked by looking at it. Use the 2-Hour Rule and Properly Store Leftovers: Perishable foods should not be left on the table or countertops for longer than two hours. After 2 hours bacteria can rapidly multiply. If
ª 2017 by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
PRACTICE APPLICATIONS that food is then eaten, your guests could get sick. Promptly refrigerate leftovers by cutting turkey into smaller slices and placing in shallow containers. Refrigerate other perishable items, such as potatoes, gravy, and vegetables as soon as dinner is over. Leftovers should stay safe
November 2017 Volume 117 Number 11
in the refrigerator for 4 days. This means you have until the Monday after Thanksgiving to eat all those delicious leftovers or place them in the freezer to enjoy later. Though the holiday season can be a difficult time for maintaining healthy
eating habits, MyPlate and the USDA are here to help with a variety of free online resources. Happy Thanksgiving!
Reference 1.
US Food and Drug Administration. 2016 Food Safety Survey Report. https://www. fda.gov/food/foodscienceresearch/consumer behaviorresearch/ucm529431.htm. Accessed August 25, 2017.
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Have a Food-Safe Holiday Season
L
AST YEAR, MORE THAN 46 million turkeys were carved and eaten at Thanksgiving. Turkey is typically accompanied by a host of side dishes and desserts, making the Thanksgiving meal by far one of the largest meals most people will cook this year. As registered dietitian nutritionists navigate the tricky waters of promoting healthy eating habits during the holiday season, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a wealth of resources available to help your clients make positive choices—both in terms of what they eat, and how they prepare and store it. In addition to the online tools and resources available through USDA’s ChooseMyPlate.gov, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) provides resources and tips for health care professionals to show people how to avoid getting sick from food poisoning this holiday season. The USDA/FSIS Thanksgiving online toolkit is your one-stop shop for holiday food safety information, providing articles on brining, stuffing turkeys, deep frying a turkey, properly storing leftovers, and preparing a bacteria-free Thanksgiving. Videos on why it’s not safe to wash a turkey are also available along with radio interviews, consumer fact sheets, and information on how to order free publications (including the Let’s Talk Turkey brochure) to distribute. Inform your clients that if the holiday meal becomes overwhelming, USDA has a toll-free hotline open on Thanksgiving Day from 8 AM to 2 PM ET,
This article was written by Tanya Brown, MBA, lead public affairs specialist, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Washington, DC; Angela Leone, MS, RDN, lead nutritionist, USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, Alexandria, VA; and Alexandra Day, special projects coordinator, Panum Group, Bethesda, MD. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2017.08.123
1722
with live food safety experts available to help in English and Spanish. Call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854). The hotline is open regularly from 10 AM to 6 PM ET, Monday through Friday. If you receive questions about keeping leftovers safe, point people to our convenient FoodKeeper app. Available on Android and Apple devices, the app provides storage timelines for the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry, for more than 500 products, including various types of baby food, dairy products and eggs, meat, poultry, produce, and seafood. Users can view instructional videos on proper handling and storage of food and can also select to receive recall information. The app is available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Speaking of leftovers, clients can find a variety of healthy, quick, and affordable recipes on What’s Cooking? USDA Mixing Bowl, at whatscooking.fns.usda. gov, to ensure their leftovers don’t go to waste. MyPlate’s Food 5 Ways infographics are a great way to teach clients about the five food groups. The protein foods infographic features leftover turkey in five different recipes. Find the 5 Ways infographics and more at www.ChooseMyPlate.gov/infographics. As your clients begin their holiday meal planning, be sure to share these food safety tips from USDA:
Wash Your Hands, but Skip Washing the Turkey: Believe it or not, washing your hands is one of the easiest ways to stop the spread of bacteria on to your food, while washing your turkey is the easiest way to spread bacteria all over your kitchen. According to the 2016 Food and Drug Administration Food Safety Survey, 68% of consumers wash poultry in the kitchen sink, which is not recommended by the USDA.1 Washing meat or poultry can splash bacteria around your kitchen up to 3 feet, contaminating countertops, towels, and
JOURNAL OF THE ACADEMY OF NUTRITION AND DIETETICS
other food. Washing doesn’t remove bacteria from the bird. Only cooking the turkey to the correct internal temperature will ensure all bacteria are killed. The exception to this rule is brining. When rinsing brine off of a turkey, be sure to remove all other food or objects from the sink, layer the area with paper towels, and use a slow stream of water to avoid splashing. Plan Ahead and Make Space in the Refrigerator: If buying a fresh turkey, purchase it 1 to 2 days before you plan to cook it and place it in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook. Do not buy fresh, pre-stuffed turkeys. If not properly handled, harmful bacteria that may be in the stuffing can multiply quickly. Frozen turkeys should be thawed in the refrigerator. Allow 24 hours for every 4 to 5 pounds. For example, if you purchase a 12- to 16-lb turkey, it will need 3 to 4 days to thaw in the refrigerator. Use a Food Thermometer: The only way to determine whether a turkey (or any meat, poultry, or seafood) is cooked to the correct internal temperature is to use a food thermometer. A whole turkey should be checked in three locations: the innermost part of the thigh, the innermost part of the wing, and the thickest part of the breast. Your thermometer should read 165 F in all three places. If one of those locations does not register at 165 F, then continue cooking until all three locations reach the correct internal temperature. Remember, you can’t tell if meat or poultry is safely cooked by looking at it. Use the 2-Hour Rule and Properly Store Leftovers: Perishable foods should not be left on the table or countertops for longer than two hours. After 2 hours bacteria can rapidly multiply. If
ª 2017 by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
PRACTICE APPLICATIONS that food is then eaten, your guests could get sick. Promptly refrigerate leftovers by cutting turkey into smaller slices and placing in shallow containers. Refrigerate other perishable items, such as potatoes, gravy, and vegetables as soon as dinner is over. Leftovers should stay safe
November 2017 Volume 117 Number 11
in the refrigerator for 4 days. This means you have until the Monday after Thanksgiving to eat all those delicious leftovers or place them in the freezer to enjoy later. Though the holiday season can be a difficult time for maintaining healthy
eating habits, MyPlate and the USDA are here to help with a variety of free online resources. Happy Thanksgiving!
Reference 1.
US Food and Drug Administration. 2016 Food Safety Survey Report. https://www. fda.gov/food/foodscienceresearch/consumer behaviorresearch/ucm529431.htm. Accessed August 25, 2017.
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