It’s a special time of year as Americans welcome spring and celebrate several holidays.
Many families and communities will be celebrating with their Easter, Eid, and Passover traditions.
These holiday meals often have cultural significance and may require foods to be prepared early, so that religious obligations are completed prior to gathering and enjoying the meals.
This provides an extended opportunity for foodborne illness to ruin major holiday dishes but New Jersey Democrat Lisa McCormick wants to help keep your celebrations safe with some tips on how to reduce any risk for foodborne illness.
“The holiday season is a special time to gather friends and family to enjoy traditional meals,” said Lisa McCormick. “Whether you’re celebrating your Easter dinner with ham, Eid lunch with lamb, or Seder meal with brisket, remember to keep food safety at the forefront.”
“There is always room for improvement, but good government touches our lives each day in many positive ways,” said Lisa McCormick. “I want to acknowledge that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient food production, and ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, but the agency is also a great source of information.”
Leaving any frozen package of meat or poultry for more than two hours on the counter at room temperature is dangerous.
“In a diverse nation with many different religions, ethnic origins, traditions and food choices, the USDA offers the same Food Safety Steps for everyone,” said Lisa McCormick. “Be sure to allow plenty of time to defrost a frozen ham, lamb, or brisket with the three safe thawing methods: refrigerator, cold water, or microwave thawing.”
“Handwashing is the first step to avoiding foodborne illness just as it is the best way to prevent the spread of infectious disease,” said Lisa McCormick. “In a recent USDA study, 96% of handwashing attempts failed due to not including all the necessary steps. Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water before and after handling food and when switching between ingredients.”
Cross-contamination is the spread of bacteria from raw meat and poultry onto ready-to-eat food, surfaces, and utensils. Avoid this by using separate cutting boards — one for raw meat and poultry, and another for ready-to-eat foods such as fruits and vegetables.
Clean and sanitize any areas where meat and poultry have touched before and after cooking. Cleaning with soap and water physically removes the germs, and sanitizing kills any that may remain.
Many different sanitizers can be used but it is easy to make an effective homemade solution by mixing one tablespoon of liquid chlorine bleach in a gallon of water, or you can use a commercial sanitizer or sanitizing wipe.
The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) recommends the following minimum internal temperatures when cooking meat and poultry items:
- Beef, pork, veal and lamb steaks, chops, roasts: 145 F
- Fish and shellfish: 145 F
- Ham, fresh or smoked (uncooked): 145 F
- Eggs: 160 F
- Ground meats: 160 F
- All poultry (breasts, whole bird, legs, thighs, wings, ground poultry, giblets, and stuffing): 165 F
When reheating already cooked meat and poultry items that have cooled, they should be reheated to at least 165 F. USDA recommends reheating cooked meat and poultry products on the stove top, in the oven, or in a microwave.
Keep in mind the “Danger Zone” between 40 and 140 F — a temperature where foodborne bacteria multiply rapidly and cause foodborne illness.
To prevent entering the Danger Zone, perishable foods, such as kebabs, brisket, or ham, should be discarded if left out for longer than two hours. To prevent food waste, refrigerate or freeze perishable items within two hours, or keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold.
Divide leftovers into smaller portions and refrigerate or freeze them in shallow containers, which helps leftovers cool quicker than storing them in large quantities.
Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for three to four days or frozen indefinitely, but quality will decrease after three to four months.
Learn more about the safe handling of beef, ham, and lamb products.
If you have questions about preparing meat, poultry or egg dishes, contact USDA’s Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) to talk to a food safety specialist or chat live at www.ask.usda.gov from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.