Thanksgiving is around the corner and coming faster than you think, as you scramble to put together the menu for this special day, don’t forget to practice safety in the kitchen with these 5 tips for a safe Thanksgiving dinner!

  1. Remember to wash your hands before and after handling food!

This may seem a little obvious, but it is definitely important to make sure this step is taken. Handling uncooked meat like turkey without the proper precautions can potentially spread salmonella, and that is not something you or your guests will be    thankful for. 

  2. Do NOT rinse the bird!

There’s some people out there that may feel the need to rinse off the turkey but that may not be the best idea as rinsing it off can also help spread salmonella all over the sink.

3. Keep utensils for different foods separate!

If you use a fork to poke the uncooked turkey, please don’t use that same fork to steal some salad from the bowl! It may seem easy enough, but in the scramble of things, make sure you know what utensils and cutting boards are for what foods. This    isn’t just a sanitary thing, but introducing a utensil to both uncooked and cooked foods can facilitate the spread of potentially dangerous germs. 

4. Make sure the turkey is fully cooked!

 Make sure you have a food thermometer handy. This will not only ensure every bite is as deliciously cooked as the next, but it brings us back to the salmonella thing. In order to avoid any contamination, make sure you insert the thermometer in at least 3 areas of the turkey and that it reads  165 F. At this temperature, you can rest assured the turkey is ready to eat!

5. Make sure all pots and pans are out of reach from little wondering hands

Having family over is both stressful and wonderful. Grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles. Don’t forget about the little ones and how their little wondering hands want to grab and pull at anything and everything they see. For this reason, make sure your kitchen and food set up is safe and away from little hands. The last thing we would want is for an accident involving hot foods and children, or even distracted adults because, hey, accidents happen!

Follow these 5 tips and you’ll be on your way to a safer holiday season!

References:

1.      “Thanksgiving,”Foodsafety.gov, Accessed on November 22, 2017, https://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/events/thanksgiving/index.html

2.      Editor, “5 Tips For A Safe And Happy Thanksgiving,”Safe Kids Worldwide, November 7, 2017, https://www.safekids.org/blog/5-tips-safe-and-happy-thanksgiving

Disclaimer:

© 2017 Legal Access Plans, L.L.C. All rights reserved. Legal Access, LegalEASE and the circle mark are marks of Legal Access Plans. Content is property of or licensed to Legal Access Plans, L.L.C. Content on this site is for general information purposes, should not be relied upon as legal advice, does not constitute a contract or an attorney-client relationship.