Practice Basic Food Safety This Holiday Season

Nobody wants to be informed that their scrumptious holiday spread was the cause of food poisoning for their guests. Yet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says 48 million or 1 in 6 people are sickened from a foodborne illness every year. In addition, the CDC says 3,000 people die each year as a result of foodborne illness. With those facts in mind, let's review some basic kitchen and food safety tips we can all put into practice this holiday season and beyond.

The experts at the USDA's Food Safety Department offer four basic steps to incorporate into your food prep routine: Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill. Cleanliness is a major factor in preventing foodborne illness, says the USDA. Everything that touches food should be kept clean and since your hands are your main tools in the kitchen, wash your hands often in warm, soapy water for 20 seconds, especially before handling food and after using the bathroom, handling pets, attending to a sick person, and after handling raw eggs and meats. Remember hand sanitizer is not a substitute for hand washing. An alcohol-based hand sanitizer may kill some microbes but will not remove soil and residue from your hands the way soap and running water will.

Cleanliness applies to kitchen surfaces and tools as well. Always wash tools, utensils, and cutting boards in hot soapy water and keep counters wiped down with the same hot, soapy water as well. Kitchen sanitizing wipes can be handy for countertops. Fresh fruits and vegetables should be washed in cool running water also to remove dirt and pesticides. Food with hard rinds such as oranges and watermelons can harbor dirt and germs as well. Use a food brush if you have one on tough foods such as hard fruits, carrots, and celery. It is not recommended that you rinse off raw meat as this can spread bacteria to your sink, sponges, and other surfaces the water splashes on.

Always separate foods to prevent cross-contamination. For example, don't use a cutting board to prepare raw meat then use that same cutting board to prepare raw fruit or vegetables without washing it in hot soapy water between foods. While any germs on the meat will be cooked away, the raw produce will pick up any germs or bacteria left on the cutting board and if served raw or not cooked thoroughly, illness can be the result. Ideally, it's a good idea to have one cutting board for meats only and one for produce only. Keep foods separated in the refrigerator also. Keep raw meats and their juices away from cooked, ready-to-eat and fresh products using Ziploc bags or small bins.

Always cook food thoroughly and while it is often easy to tell the difference between cooked and raw food, it is not always easy to determine if a food has been cooked enough to kill potential pathogens. While a hamburger may look done if it's brown in the middle, a food thermometer is a handy tool that can enable any cook to ensure food is cooked to a safe temperature. You can find an instant read meat thermometer at any retailer, hardware, or online. The USDA offers the following recommendations for safe food temperatures. Raw beef, lamb, pork, and veal in steak, roast, or chop form should reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees before being removed from the heat. Ground beef, lamb, pork, and veal should be cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 160 degrees. Raw chicken should always be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. When using a meat thermometer, never let the probe touch bone, gristle, or fat, and insert it deeply into the thickest part of the meat.

Always chill food promptly. It may be tempting to leave food out all evening for guests, but the USDA suggests never leaving food at room temperature for longer than two hours. Bacteria exist everywhere in nature and even after food is cooked to a safe temperature, they can be reintroduced to food and begin reproducing when they have access to the nutrients present in foods. Bacteria grow most rapidly in temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees, a range often called the "Danger Zone." You've likely heard the phrase, "keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold" and it applies to the holiday table. Promptly refrigerate leftovers and always reheat foods to a safe internal temperature of 165 degrees.

If you have a question about food safety, call the USDA Meat and Poultry hotline toll-free at 1-888-674-6854 Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information on handling food safely, see the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service website at http://www.fsis.usda.gov.