Don’t give your guests food poisoning this Thanksgiving!

OSHKOSH, WI—(WISS)— The big day is here. Cooks have been prepping, baking, chopping, and dicing. And now, it’s nearing time for the Thanksgiving feast. But before you start roasting the bird and setting out a buffet, take the time to review safety tips. No one wants food poisoning on Thanksgiving.

Morgan Peterson, Environmental Health Specialist with the Winnebago County Public Health Department, said keeping you and your family safe from food-borne illness takes a little forethought.

Thanksgiving Safety First

The most crucial food-safety tip is washing your hands.

“ When you get into the kitchen, washing your hands, that’s always the biggest thing we want to push, especially during this season, cold season. Washing your hands for a full 20 seconds. And having the kids that you’re cooking with wash their hands for a full 20 seconds as well,” said Peterson.

Cross Contamination

Peterson adds that cross-contamination is one of the dangers of the Thanksgiving feast. Many different raw and cooked foods are being prepared. 

“What you kind of see in a lot of home kitchens, especially when you have a lot of cooks in the kitchen, is not knowing where raw items are being placed. And not knowing that you need to completely clean and sanitize that area, especially when you’re working with Turkey.”

She said washing all surfaces, utensils, and areas in between items is very important. She recommends using bleach. 

“Especially working with that volume of raw meat, like a big turkey. There’s the juices and all that fun stuff. Using some bleach, just common household bleach, a little bit of that, and cleaning that with some water and completely sanitizing your area.”

Thanksgiving Turkey Temperature

The most critical utensil used at Thanksgiving is not the carving knife or Grandma’s special salad bowl. It’s the meat thermometer.

Turkey and stuffing are usually the main dishes in a Thanksgiving feast. Many recommend not serving the stuffing that is baked inside the turkey. But Peterson said as long as the stuffing and the bird reach an internal temperature of 165˚F, it is safe to eat. 

“Take the temperature of the turkey in the thickest part of the breast of the turkey or somewhere like that,” Peterson said. “That’s where you’ll get that true internal temperature of the meat.”

She added, “According to USDA, it’s usually the thickest part that you wanna see that you’re actually getting that true internal temperature. Because if you’re too close to a bone, you may not get that true internal temperature that shows that the entirety of the meat reached that 165˚.”

Managing the Buffet

Speaking of getting food up to temperature and keeping it safe, Peterson said managing the buffet is as simple as keeping hot foods hot and cold foods cold. She added that refrigerating food after it has been sitting out for two hours is also essential. 

“Especially for some of these big events. We do recommend the two-hour timeline, especially for items that should be cold or kept below 41˚F. You have people you know that are along the buffet for hours and just wanna kind of graze along,” Peterson cautioned. “But two hours is what we usually say it should be put in the fridge after.

Peterson said food can easily harbor bacteria that can make people sick when it enters the “danger zone” between 41˚F and 135˚F.