Health officials offer Thanksgiving food safety tips

Public health officials offer some tips to keep the Thanksgiving holiday festive by avoiding food-borne illnesses.

The Will County Health Department and Illinois Department of Public Health this week issued a list of food safety tips for Thanksgiving.

Thawing the turkey thoroughly is a big first step.

“When turkey begins to thaw, any bacteria that may have been present before freezing can begin to grow again,” according to the news release from health officials. “It takes about 24 hours for every five pounds of turkey to thaw in the refrigerator, so it can take three days to thaw a 15-pound bird.”

If time has run out to thaw the turkey in the refrigerator, it can by thawed in a sink of cold water while changing the water every 30 minutes or in a microwave. Turkey should never be thawed by leaving it out on a counter, according to the release.

Four main safety steps are recommended once the turkey is thawed.

• Keep clean by washing hands with soap and water before, during and after preparing food, especially before and after handling the turkey.

• Separate the turkey from other foods since raw turkey and its juice “can contaminate anything they touch,” according to the news release. Use a separate cutting board for raw turkey, and wash all items including utensils and countertops, used to prepare the turkey before preparation of other food.

• Cook with a food thermometer to see that the turkey and stuffing have reached “a safe internal temperature” of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. “Take the temperature in three places — the thickest part of the breast, the innermost part of the thigh, and the innermost part of the wing,” according to the release. The stuffing center also should reach 165 degrees.

• Chill leftovers in the refrigerator up to four days. Food should not be left at room temperature more than two hours. Leftovers, too, should be reheated to 165 degrees.

As a cautionary note, health officials noted that the Centers for Disease Control estimates that every year 48 million people get sick from a food-borne illness, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die. Signs of a food-borne illness include vomiting, diarrhea and flu-like symptoms.

The CDC’s food safety website is www.cdc.gov/foodsafety.

More information on food safety during the holidays can be found on the Illinois Department of Public Health website at https://dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/food-safety/holidays.html.