Food Safety TIps For Your Holiday Meals

Sometimes when cooking in our own kitchen, we forget some key steps in the safety of cooking. No one wants to get sick for the holiday, follow these simple steps to make sure you’re covered.

When we cook at home we get carried away with distractions and kids running around and maybe even your mother-in-law trying to butt in, but don’t let safety slip from your clean hands this holiday season. Follow these steps:

Food preparation and alcohol

• Wash your hands (and the kids helping) well with warm water and soap before and after food preparation, especially raw meat or eggs.
• Wash utensils, containers, countertops and cutting boards well before and after food preparation. It’s always a good idea to put a dash of bleach in with the dishwater in the sink when dealing with poultry products for extra precaution.
• Use separate cutting boards for meat products. And like stated above, maybe wash these tools in that dishwater prepared with a capful of bleach.
• Cook all meats to the recommended internal temperature. All meats should reach at least 165 degrees with a food thermometer.
• Refrigerate all perishable items no more than two hours after a meal.
• Keep all alcoholic beverages out of the reach of children and beware of unfinished alcoholic beverages - as little as 3 ounces of hard liquor can be fatal to a child weighing 25 pounds. Make sure you put the wine bottles away appropriately.

Have a fun, safe and great holiday season!