17 Safe Food Tips to Keep Your Holidays Bright

The upcoming holidays can be crazy if you are hosting dinner.

A houseful of people, food, drinks, football, chaos.

How do you make sure you keep everything running smoothly and safely for everyone?

Safety expert Debra Holtzman gives us her tips for keeping your family and your guests safe with everything going on during holiday gathering.

Holtzman stresses that holidays are for being together as family and celebrating traditions.  She says these tips can help make your time together safe but enjoy your time. Don’t worry about calories – take a family walk together or shop it off on Black Friday!

• Instead of cracking open the can of cranberry sauce (which has a shelf-life of 12-18 months), why not head to the farmer’s market and shop together for fresh cranberries? It makes a great family memory (and possibly the start of a tradition) and also uses fresh, locally-grown produce free of pesticides.
• With that, Holtzman points out that “organic” simply means grown without synthetic pesticides – organic produce still needs to be washed as it can carry bacteria on the outside of the fruit or vegetable. She recommends scrubbing any produce with a brush under running water before cutting. If there is bacteria, such as Salmonella, on the outside, when you cut into the produce, you will bring the bacteria to the part you are going to eat, which can cause illness.
• In order to prevent  cross-contamination from meat, poultry and seafood juices, Holtzman recommends using two different cutting boards – either plastic or wood – to keep fruit, vegetables and breads separate from any meats you need to cut up. She prefers cutting boards that can be put in the dishwasher for cleaning. If your boards have deep grooves in them, consider replacing them since the grooves can harbor harmful bacteria.
• Make sure you wash your hands thoroughly between handling any food products, glasses or utensils. She recommends not just soap but also a nail brush to get under your fingernails and sing the alphabet song (A, B, C, D…) at least once to make sure you’ve scrubbed long enough.
• For safe handling of your turkey, Holtzman recommends checking out the www.usda.gov website for tips such as defrosting and safe stuffing in the bird. Cook the bird to 165°F throughout, which means you should use a meat thermometer all over the bird to test it.
• If you decide to deep-fry your turkey this year, she recommends checking out the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s website www.cpsc.gov for strict safety tips as having a large vat of hot oil is pretty dangerous…
• She prefers cooking stuffing outside of the bird for safety reasons. If you do choose to put it in the bird, please measure the temperature of this also and make sure it reaches 165°F as well.
• Always make sure your cider or juice has been pasteurized. If you are unsure, you can boil it for 1 minute and let it cool before serving.
• If you are going to make your own eggnog, Holtzman recommends buying eggs that have been pasteurized in the shell, which means they have been heated high enough to kill bacteria but not cook the egg. You can tell if you eggs have been pasteurized if there is a P with a circle around it stamped on the egg. She prefers Davidson brand eggs for this. If you buy your eggnog from the store, it will be pasteurized already.
• Use the “2-Hour Rule” for platters as any food left out over 2 hours can have a harmful amount of bacteria. Use chafing dishes, crock pots or warming trays for foods that need to stay warm. Use bowls nested in other bowls of ice for things that need to stay cool. Chips, crackers and popcorn don’t have the 2-hour rule as they are not perishable.
• For other buffet safety tips, check out an earlier post about holiday food safety from Holtzman here.
• If you know any of your guests have allergies, you can usually find special foods in your grocery store. Holtzman recommends speaking to the store manager if you can’t find a specific item and they will usually special order it for you. Make sure you take care of this in advance in case it takes a day or two to get the item.
• For leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours and if you know you won’t eat it soon, freeze the food in single-serve containers for easy defrosting and serving.  Remove the meat from the bird before storing. Anything you freeze should stay tasty for a couple of months.
• In terms of clean up, make sure you replace your sponges frequently and wash any kitchen towels in hot water. When you are cleaning up from meat juices, use paper towels to prevent bacteria from getting spread around from your sponge or towel.
• Don’t forget to wipe off the salt and pepper shakers especially if you are using them while cooking. Also, wipe off the lids of any jars you get out.
• Your sink is the dirtiest place in the whole house – even dirtier than your bathroom. Make sure to clean your sink thoroughly with hot water and soap.  
• Holtzman likes using vinegar and other green solutions for cleaning. She also recommends looking on the www.usda.gov website for cleaning solutions, including diluted bleach for disinfecting.
• Don’t use the phone when you are cooking as you can contaminate your phone with dirty hands – let it go to voicemail and call them back when you are finished touching food.

With these tips, your holidays can be fun and sickness-free. To check out her other safety tips for all over the house, please read Holtzman’s book “The Safe Baby: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Home Safety and Healthy Living”    (Sentient Publications, 2009) and her website at www.thesafetyexpert.com.

About Debra Holtzman

Debra Holtzman has a law degree, an M.A. in occupational health and safety (OSHA) and is an award-winning parenting author and a mom. In addition to practicing law, Debra has worked as a safety and health consultant and has inspected numerous plants and factories for hazardous working conditions and practices. Debra also teaches infant and toddler safety and CPR at a regional hospital and is a certified child passenger safety technician.