This season is all about enjoying and festivity so don't let food poisoning interfere with the family cheer.

Contamination of food may occur at any point if improper food handling is practice. Once individuals consumed contaminated food or drinks, they are at risk of suffering from serious cases, which can eventually lead to paralysis, difficulty of breathing and even death. That's why health experts want to remind all households about the importance of food safety to avoid foodborne disease this holiday season.

Ontario's Acting Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. David Williams strongly suggested that every family should keep these food safety tips in mind to avoid food poisoning this jolly season.

Keep everything clean    

Bacteria can easily get anywhere, so, to avoid disease causing bacteria, always keep everything clean including your hands. Clean everything with clean water from cutting boards, knives and especially the food itself. Also, always maintain the countertops clean and always use clean dishcloths in wiping utensils.

Separate meat

To avoid cross contamination, always separate raw meats from ready to eat food. Dr Williams said harmful organisms can spread easily, so, to avoid the spreading of bacteria make sure to separate the raw from ready to eat food like salad to prevent contamination.

Cook Thoroughly

Meat like poultry, pork, liver, kebabs, turkey and burger patties should be cook thoroughly. Make sure to always check the middle, inner part of the meats after cooking to see if the color is no longer pink and the juices should run down with no reddish color, it should be clear.

Chill     

High risk food like meat, poultry, eggs, fish and dairy products should be chilled to four degrees Celsius within two hours of purchase, said Dr Williams.

Dr David said this holiday season it is important to practice proper food handling as every year thousands of the Ontarians suffer to food poisoning due to lack of knowledge about the proper way of food preparation.