The Christmas season is probably the most active month of the year for food. There are gatherings, parties, and feasts everywhere. This is supposed to be a celebration for the family and friends. However, there is always the risk of attracting the uninvited—the harmful bacteria or pathogens that cause food-poisoning. In fact, the number of food poisoning outbreaks spikes during the holiday season.

Disease-causing bacteria like E. Coli, Salmonella, and Campylobacter are notorious for causing thousands of food poisoning every Christmas.

Proper preparation, cooking, and storage will keep these bacteria from spoiling the fun. Use the following food safety tips below to guarantee food safety at Christmas

When at the supermarket, pick the non-perishable items first, perishable after

Preparing for a bountiful Christmas feast always starts with buying the ingredients. And that’s where food safety concerns actually start also.  At the market, you may be confused as to which items to get first. As a rule, head for the non-perishable items first. Food items like sugar, dried fruits, grains, and canned goods are non-perishables.

Perishable commodities at the supermarket are treated specially. They are displayed in well-controlled temperature.  Foods like meat and poultry, seafood, and fruits and vegetables should get into your shopping cart last.

You can always practice this all time. But never forget this rule during the holidays. These are times when the checkout lines are considerably longer. You don’t want your perishables completely thawed by the time you get home.

Store all the food items in the right spot in the refrigerator

Once home from the supermarket, you have to put some of the foods in the refrigerator—perishables, particularly. But it isn’t just putting them wherever you feel like. Though you are storing them at a lower temperature, there is the risk of cross-contamination. Cross-contamination is the transfer of harmful bacteria or pathogens from one food product to another.

Here are some scenarios of cross-contamination:

1.  Accidentally getting a contaminated food or surface into contact with ready-to-eat (RTD) food.
2. Unknowingly getting a contaminated ingredient into contact with a food that does not require cooking.
3. A contaminated raw food getting into contact with a cooked food.
4. A contaminated food getting into contact with a RTD.
5. Touching a contaminated food and then touching a food that does not require cooking.

These scenarios can definitely happen when foods are improperly stored inside the refrigerator.

All perishable items must be on the bottom shelf, especially meat and poultry, and seafood. This is to avoid dripping of juice from the meat onto foods that do not require cooking. Remember that raw meat generally contains bacteria that may cause food poisoning. The best way to store raw meat for Christmas is to put them in containers or sealed plastic bags before placing them on the bottom shelf.

There are specially made containers that you can purchase for this.

All the ready-to-eat foods that you will be serving for Christmas like cheese, ice cream, macaroni, and salads must be placed on the top shelves.

Improper use of the refrigerator may lead to food borne illness. Know how to properly use the refrigerator on this post.

Wash your hands before, during, and after preparing food

It is believed that hand washing is the most important step in promoting food safety. In fact, it is the first thing any person does when entering a food processing area.

It is the same thing when preparing a bountiful Christmas feast. You need to wash your hands before, during, and after preparing food. When you are handling food ingredients without washing hands, you are spreading bacteria yourself.

Wait, during?

Yes. Whenever you touch raw meat like poultry, beef, and seafood. You’d spread bacteria everywhere in the kitchen if you do not wash your hand right after.

Proper hand washing involves using soap and warm water, and scrubbing the hands for 20 seconds.

Clean and sanitize utensils and food contact surfaces

Cleaning and sanitizing equipment, utensils and food contact surfaces like a cutting board, a knife, and the countertop. Proper cleaning requires an appropriate detergent to be effective in removing organic matter. Remember that cleaning is a requirement for effective sanitizing. When there is organic matter due to improper cleaning, sanitizing may not work well.

Sanitize equipment, utensils, and food contact surfaces using your preferred sanitizer. There are many options here. But chlorine-based sanitizers are one of the most commonly used sanitizers since they are cheap, hygienic, and effective.

If you want to prepare chlorine solution for sanitizing, check it out here: Guide To Using Chlorine In The Food Industry.

Never wash meat

Washing before consumption is a must especially for fruits and vegetables. But meat is a definite exemption here.

Why?

Contrary to popular belief, it is not recommended to wash raw meat like beef, pork, and poultry for food safety reason. Yes, that adhering dirt, oil, and blood is should be washed off. But mere washing the meat won’t eliminate the microorganisms, especially the harmful bacteria. You will just end up splashing them in your sink, nearby food items (hopefully not ready-to-eat), utensils and the other contact surfaces you have just cleaned.

Do not worry just yet though. With proper cooking and temperature, bacteria can easily be eliminated.

Properly cook meat at the safe minimum cooking temperature

Roast, anyone?

A Christmas dinner is not complete without meat—turkey, beef, chicken, veal—name it.

 A well-cooked meat is even better. How do you tell if the meat is done? Generally, the meat is cooked when there is no pink visible, and it is piping hot throughout.  Is that all it?

No. You should also make sure it has undergone a specific temperature to kill bacteria. Temperature control, as per FDA, is the most accurate way to properly cook meat.

There is this belief that the longer you cook the better. It is not true if the cooking temperature is not high enough. Each meat type has its specific safe minimum cooking temperature. Check out below.

Use a working temperature to validate the temperature of the meat. If the thermometer is not calibrated, you are just giving yourself wrong readings. Also, use an appropriate thermometer. Never use the hand thermometer you are using to monitor the temperature of your fridge. A thermometer that is used for low temperature isn’t suited for reading high temperature. Check this guide on how to calibrate a food thermometer.

Keep cold food cold, and hot food hot

Going out of town for the family reunion this Christmas?

If you and your family are going for a long travel, you are putting home-cooked dishes at risk of turning into breeding grounds for microorganisms. Keep in mind that cold foods should remain cold and hot food should remain hot. Buying food containers like coolers that maintain the temperature inside is a must. Besides, these items are sold at reduced prices during the holiday season. Consider buying one or two when you go shopping.

Generally, cold foods like salads must be stored at 40°F (4°C) or below while hot foods at 140 (60°C) or above. What we are preventing here is storing food at temperatures within the Temperature Danger Zone. In Food Safety, the Temperature Danger Zone is the range (40°F- 140°F) where microorganisms grow optimally—they grow and multiply faster. It is like throwing a colony of ants in a jar of cookie.

Read this post to know what microorganisms need in order to survive.

It is recommended to discard any food that stays at this range for 2 hours as it may cause food borne illness when consumed.

Immediately refrigerate any leftover

With many selections of foods on the table, leftover foods are inevitable. You can definitely save them for later. Pack or place them in sealed containers before storing in the refrigerator. Be guided though, most foods can only be stored in refrigerator for a short period of time.

Cooked leftovers can only be stored for 4 days. Homemade ham, macaroni salad, and home-cooked dishes should last 3 to 5 days. Cooked whole ham can be stored for 7 days. Cooked patties, nuggets, soups, and stews can be stored for 3 to 4 days.

Question: Isn’t it better to put them in the freezer?

When we are talking about storing them for longer periods, yes, it is. You can store food items for up to 4 months.

But is it worth it? Quality-wise, keeping leftovers frozen for months is a no-no. They’ll lose quality especially the flavor over time.

Reheating Leftovers

Subjecting food to lower temperature during storage slows down bacterial growth. When you are reheating leftovers, make sure you reheat them at 165°F (73°C) for 2 minutes, at least, to kill the harmful bacteria.

Cover the foods when reheating for even distribution of heat. Soups, stews, gravies, and sauces must be brought to a boil.

Question: Can you repeatedly reheat food?

Yes. As you as long as you reheat them at proper temperature and time. But it isn’t recommended as multiple reheating results in further loss of nutrients. As much as possible, reheat leftovers once.

The holiday season is all about family, friends, and fun. But when there is food, there is always a risk of food poisoning due to bad practices. The tips given above are simple yet effective ways of promoting food safety at Christmas.

Stay safe this Christmas!

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