USDA offers tips to avoid food-related illness this Thanksgiving

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - Many of you are thawing a turkey and double checking your grocery list to prepare for a Thanksgiving feast.

While safe food practices might seem like common sense, according to the CDC, there are over 300,000 hospitalizations associated with food borne illnesses each year.

Jesse Garcia, public relations specialist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said there are a few simple tips to follow to avoid food borne illnesses, starting with cooking a turkey. The amount of time needed to cook it thoroughly depends on size but the internal temperature should reach 165 degrees by using a food thermometer. Ground beef needs to reach a temperature of 160 degrees, while whole meats like ham, need to reach a temperature of 145 degrees.

“If you cook a turkey that’s stuffed, you add about fifty percent more to the time, so we recommend that you cook an unstuffed turkey, and cook the dressing on the side,” Garcia said.

It is safe to cook an unthawed turkey, but cooking time will take longer.

From the time you take food out of the oven, you have a two hour period to eat it or put it in the refrigerator. The food “danger zone” is between 40 to 140 degrees.

“We recommend that you put like a chafing dish or a crock pot that have hot foods that need to be heated for that whole party,” Garcia said. “For stuff that needs to be chilled, we recommend that you put a bowl of ice under those perishable foods that need to be chilled.”

Garcia said you should cut up the turkey or other meats before storing it in containers. He also said leftovers should be enjoyed from Thursday to Monday. After that, you have to decide whether to discard the food or freeze it.

“Just know that you have a good six months for it to still have that same quality of taste, and after that, it deteriorates.,” Garcia said. “When you do reheat it from its frozen state, make sure it reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.”

The CDC said severe cases tend to occur in those very young or very old, those with a weakened immune system or a person who is exposed to a very high dose of the bacteria.

For a food safety question, you can contact the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) to talk to a food safety specialist or chat live at ask.usda.gov from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday. On Thanksgiving Day, the hotline will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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