Afraid to give your family a bug during Christmas dinner because of all the food recalls and health public announcements being posted everywhere? Well, here are a few things to remember for your family to have a clean and safe Christmas Eve lunch or dinner. And it all starts with your fridge.
Being sick is a gift nobody wants for Christmas, and cleaning your fridge is the first thing you should do because your fridge may have been keeping bacteria from the earlier parts of the year. Clean it from mould and mildew, before shelving your holiday festive treats inside. Rob Hobson, the nutrition consultant for Healthspan says:
Keep raw meat at the bottom of the fridge and make sure the temperature is set below 5C.
The butterball turkey needs to be kept, defrosted and cleaned safely. The Food Standards Agency statistically reported that one in four people safely defrosted the poultry in the fridge. The last thing you need is a roasted turkey that is delicious in your mouth but bad for your tummy because of germs that cannot be seen by the naked eye. The biggest thing you can do to defrost your turkey is to cover it, with its original packaging or in a clean container to hold the thawed liquid in and avoid cross contamination. Kevin Hargin from the FSA explains that if it's not defrosted fully it will also be cooked unevenly and germs can survive.
After thawing, it's best to NEVER wash the poultry. Washing turkey in the sink is a bad idea because for fear of cross-contamination. Dan Rigby, a professor in environmental economics explains:
People are underestimating the level of contamination. The message is simple - wash your hands, not your bird.
Cook the bird thoroughly. Never end up with a raw piece of meat on your plate. It harbors bacterial fugitives that can make you sick. Use a thermometer to read the temperature. Kevin reminds us that there should be no pink meat at the thickest parts of the turkey. Juices from the bird should run clear and if you have stuffing, it needs to be on the same temperature as your turkey.
Vegetables should be thoroughly scrubbed. Just making sure because there have been several reports of E.Coli outbreak this past year.
These turkey tips can help you make a fine, clean and safe centerpiece roast. But if in doubt, as sources say, throw it out.
