Food safety is important all year round – and a little planning will ensure this Christmas is not remembered for all the wrong reasons.
Nearly a third of people will be eating Christmas dinner with more than seven guests and 45 per cent will spend over five hours preparing and cooking.
South Holland District Council has teamed up with the Food Standards Agency to issue some festive cooking advice.
Coun Malcolm Chandler, portfolio holder for food safety, said: “The Christmas period can provide challenges when it comes to avoiding food poisoning.
“Cooking for more people than normal can mean having to handle different defrosting and cooking times for food, making sure that large amounts of food are stored safely, and ensuring that any leftovers are still safe to eat, all while reducing unnecessary food waste.”
Now
- Cold temperatures slow the growth of germs so make sure your fridge is running at the correct temperature –below 5°C – and is not overcrowded
- To prevent cross-contamination, ensure that you store raw turkey (and other raw foods) separately from cooked or ready to eat food, covered and chilled on the bottom shelf.
Preparing the turkey
- If you are using a frozen turkey, make sure you check how long it will take to defrost safely using the turkey packaging instructions or at www.food.gov.uk/christmas
- To prevent the spread of food poisoning germs like campylobacter, make sure that you wash everything that has touched your raw turkey (e.g. hands, utensils and work surfaces) with soap and hot water
- Don’t wash your raw turkey under the tap as this can splash germs around your kitchen
- Check the turkey is cooked thoroughly – there should be no pink meat in the thickest parts and it should be steaming hot with juices running clear
Dealing with leftovers
- If you’ve got leftovers, you should cool them, cover and ensure that they go in the fridge or freezer within 1-2 hours. If you have a lot of one type of food, splitting it into smaller portions will help it to cool quicker
- Leftovers should be eaten or frozen within two days (one day for rice dishes)
- Make sure that when you come to use frozen leftovers, you defrost them thoroughly in the fridge overnight or in a microwave (on defrost setting) and then reheat until steaming hot
