With the holidays comes food, food, and more food. Unfortunately, with all the food and all the resulting leftovers the chances of food-borne illness increases. Following some basic safety guidelines will help to keep you and your family safe from food related illness

At The Store

• Pay Attention to "Sell By" and "Use By" dates.
• Make sure frozen food is solid, refrigerated foods are cold and packages are not torn or punctured.
• Place raw poultry, meet, or fish in separate bags before putting them in your cart to prevent leakage.
• Pick up perishable foods last before checking out to help maintain temperature.

At Home

• Put perishable foods in the refrigerator or freezer first.
• Place meat, fish, and poultry in separate plastic bags and on plates, to prevent leaks.
• Use beef, deli meats, and poultry within a few days; use fish within one or two days.
• Maintain refrigerator temperature at 35 to 40 degrees; keep the freezer at or below zero.

Food Preparation DO NOT defrost meat, poultry or fish on a kitchen counter or in warm water.  Bacteria thrive between 40 and 140 degrees F. Cook defrosted meats immediately. Keep everything (hands, utensils, bowls, counters) that touches food clean. Wash hands with warm soapy water before preparing any food and after handling raw meat, poultry or fish. Use separate platters, cutting boards, trays and utensils for cooked and uncooked meat, poultry, and fish. Keep raw poultry, meat and fish juices from other foods

Cooking

• Cook ground meats thoroughly to an internal temperature of 160 degrees; use a thermometer to be sure.
• DO NOT cook meats at below 300 degrees.
• DO NOT use brown paper bags for roasting.
• Cook stuffing for turkey or chicken separately, not in the cavity of the bird.
• DO NOT interrupt cooking time and finish later.
• Baste or brush sauces only on cooked meat.

Serving

• DO NOT leave cooked meat or other perishable foods at room temperature for longer than two hours.
• When serving buffet style, keep cold foods on ice.
• DO NOT mix buffet foods by adding new foods to existing buffet items.
• Use separate plates, platters or trays for holding raw and uncooked foods.
• If using utensils for both raw and uncooked foods, wash them thoroughly in between uses with war, soapy water

Leftovers

• Freeze or refrigerate leftovers immediately.
• Leftover meat, fish, and poultry should be wrapped securely before refrigerating.
• Eat leftover meat, fish, and poultry within three to four days and reheat to 165 degrees or until steaming hot.
• Sauces and gravies should be reheated to a rolling boil for at least one minute before serving

For more information on holiday food safety please visit the CDC's food safety web page.