Volume 107: Thanksgiving Food Safety and Storage: A Comprehensive Guide to a Healthy Holiday

Happy Thanksgiving! Let the feasting begin! Gratitude abounds! Especially from me to you for being part of Inner Workings. Really. Thank you for being here.

You’ll want to tag or print this newsletter to support you throughout the busy holidays! We’re talking about food safety: cross contamination, how long food should stay out at what temperature, and how to store it after feasting - or even day to day. Please share this newsletter with others who need to know!

And, as always, I invite your questions.

(My husband’s aunt used to store their partially eaten stuffed turkey on top of the fridge for days and days after the meal ended. They’d still eat from it. Don’t do that).

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First, and I’m calling it out because I know how the holidays get: If you are sick yourself with a cold, the flu, COVID, fever, the sniffles, sore throat, cough, digestive issues, etc., you should not be cooking for anyone else. If the meal is not made to your standard or someone is disappointed because you didn’t make a particular dish, everyone will survive emotionally. I promise.

ServSafe training taught me the “Big Five” that are easily transmitted by food: Norovirus (what we think of as “food poisoning”), Salmonella, Shigella, E. coli, and Hepatitis A virus. Good to know that you can avoid them by following this guide!

Wash Your Hands When Handling Food (and lots of other times!)

You think people know about proper hand washing, but even when they know they often don’t do it. Make your sous chefs wash, too.
Soap, very warm water, and 10-15 seconds of friction by rubbing hands together are critical:

• before starting cooking;
• every single time you use the bathroom, rub your eyes, blow your nose, touch your hair, eat, smoke, move dirty dishes, or touch something that isn’t for the dish you’re making;
• between handling raw animal proteins and handling any other food; and
• really any time you are moving from raw animal proteins to anything else.
• Raw animal products contain pathogenic bacteria and other bugs that can infect your other foods, or that others can touch unknowingly on the fridge, oven handle - wherever.
• Use a clean towel, ideally a paper towel, to dry them.
• Don’t touch the faucet handle or bathroom door handle - use your elbow or a paper towel.

Sneezes and Coughs

• They happen even to people who aren’t sick sometimes.
  
• Walk away/point away from the prep area and absolutely cover your mouth and nose.
  
• Wash your hands thoroughly afterward!
  

Keep Separate Cutting Boards and Containers for Raw and Cooked Foods

• Raw meat/animal products and cooked foods must have their own separate cutting board, separate containers/pans/bowls, and separate part of the counter to avoid cross contamination.
• Never, ever chop or store other foods (vegetables, fruits, breads, etc. etc.) on a cutting board or container that has had raw meat, seafood, or poultry on it. Dedicate their own chopping boards and containers to these.
  • I’ll cut you some slack if the items being chopped will be cooking with the meat or poultry.
    

Don’t Keep Cleaning Supplies by the Food

• Cleaning chemicals and the bugs collected on rags and sponges can transfer to the food.
  
• See my Tip of the Month about sponges and scrub brushes here.
  
• Don’t reuse washcloths and tea towels used during meal prep after the meal. Put them in the wash.
  

Eeeeeewwwww - Fungi/Mold, Yeast, and Parasites - When to Toss the Food

• Fungi/Mold: Throw out food with mold on it, although you can cut mold off of hard cheeses and still eat them if you cut it at least one inch from the mold.
  
• Yeast: Some can cause food spoilage. Look for bubbles, an alcohol smell or taste, discoloration, or slime.
  
• Parasites: They need a live host to survive. Freezing and heat will kill them.
  
• When in doubt, throw it out.
  

Most Food-Borne Botulism is Caused by Canned Food

Botulism is a rare, but extremely serious illness caused by any one of three bacteria, most commonly Clostridium botulinum. The toxin it produces can grow in food, wounds, and the intestines of infants. It attacks the nerves and causes difficulty breathing, muscle paralysis, and even death without quick medical treatment.

• Improperly made or stored home-canned foods are the most common source because the bacterium’s spores can grow in: (Read more on this CDC page).
  • Low-oxygen or no oxygen (anaerobic) environment
  • Low acid
  • Low sugar
  • Low salt
  • A certain temperature range
  • A certain amount of water
• Throw out any food that looks discolored, moldy, or smells bad.
  • Beware of store bought canned food with dents, bulges, swollen tops, or leaks.
  • Throw out containers that don’t look right.
  • Throw out any container that spurts liquid or foam when you open it.
• Botulism doesn’t need oxygen to thrive, and heat kills it - see Cooking Temperatures below.

Wash Vegetables and Fruit

• Veg and fruit that have firm exteriors or rinds should be washed with soap, water, and friction and well rinsed.
  
  • Result: you will not transfer pathogens from the exterior onto the interior, e.g. when cutting citrus fruits or winter squash or peeling potatoes.
    
• Rinse all other fruit and vegetables thoroughly with running water.
  

Refrigerated Storage

• Store raw foods below cooked foods and fruits, vegetables, breads, etc. to prevent any juices dripping on them from above.
  

Options for Thawing Frozen Foods - All of Them

• In the refrigerator, under 41ºF. Start a few days early for big things like roasts and turkeys!
  
  • Count 24 hours for small birds/roasts, 3 days for a 15lb turkey, longer for bigger ones.
    
• Under running cold water that is 70ºF or lower (not those big meats, though!)
• Microwave, but only if you plan to cook it right away.
• As part of the cooking process (e.g. frozen vegetables).
• Never thaw meat, fish, or poultry at room temperature:
  • The center will thaw more slowly than the exterior, and pathogens will grow at room temp. You can’t count on the cold of the interior to protect the exterior.
    
  • People forget to put the food away or cook it timely = pathogens!
    

The Temperature Danger Zone for Bacteria to Grow

This is so important if you have a buffet that lasts for several hours!

• Cold foods should be kept at 41ºF or below and hot foods kept at 135ºF or above to avoid bacterial growth before serving.
  
  • Foods that contain water or are damp are more likely to grow bacteria.
    
• Very alkaline (like crackers) and very acidic (like lemons) foods are not hospitable to bacterial growth.
• Harmful bacteria grow rapidly when kept for more than a total of four hours between 41º and 135º.
  • Reminder: Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold.
    
• Perishable food can be left out safely at room temperature for around 2 hours, but not longer. (Only 1 hour if the ambient temperature is 90º or above).
  

Minimum Safe Internal Temperature During Cooking

• Raw chicken, turkey (not stuffed), and other poultry: 165º Test deep in the thickest part of the bird.
  
• Stuffed turkey: stuffing - 165º; breast - 170º; thigh - 175º.
  
  • Note: turkey may be removed from the oven if it has reached 160º-165º if you allow it to sit for 20-45 minutes. The internal temperature will continue to rise about 5º.
    
• Eggs (not served immediately), chopped fish, ground meat/beef patties: 155º for at least 15 seconds.
  
• Eggs (served immediately), fish, beef steak, pork chops, game animals raised commercially: 145º for at least 15 seconds.
• Stuffed fish, stuffed meats, stuffed pasta, and all poultry: 165º for at least 15 seconds.
• Vegetables, fruits (eaten immediately): 135º
• Reheating food in the microwave: 165º, then allow to stand for 2 minutes before eating.
  

Cooling Food

• Reduce the size of the food product by cutting or dividing.
  
• Consider placing it in containers and then put the containers in ice water baths. Stir to mix cooling food into still warm spots until cool enough to place in fridge or freezer.
• Use loose or no covers while cooling to prevent trapping heat.
• Cool from 135º to 70º in less than two hours, then 70º to 41º in less than four hours.
• Do not place still hot foods directly in the freezer or refrigerator. Allow them to cool first, stir them so that warm spots will even into cool ones, and then store in fridge or freezer. Otherwise bacteria can grow in the still warm parts of the food and contaminate the whole thing.
  

Leftovers

• Good for 3 days if kept properly cooled, stored, and refrigerated.
  
  • If you’re not going to follow the three day boundary (and so many of us don’t ), then reread the section on When to Toss Food.
    
• Remember the rules about rewarming described above.
• Good for 4-6 months if frozen (generally).
  

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Tip of the Month

This newsletter was full of tips already!

My tip this month, then, is to suggest you find ways to connect. Remember that no one is perfect. It’s ok to have different opinions - when you hit them, consciously find commonalities instead. Stuff goes wrong, and that’s ok. Seek out hugs. Play games. Take walks. When you need a break, take it. Ask for help. Join in creating a healing community. Love fully from the heart.

Blessings on you and your family by blood and your family by choice, now and always.