Food Safety at Christmas

1
Food Safety at Christmas

• By
• Dr. Deryck D. Pattron, Ph.D.
• FDI, Ministry of Health,
• Trinidad, West Indies

2
Why Should Extra Care Be Taken To Keep Food Safe
At Christmas?

• Consumers tend to buy large quantities of food in
  advance of the holidays
• Consumers and the general public tend to cook
  larger quantities of food over the Christmas
  period and this period is a danger time for food
  poisoning
• Storing food before, during and after Christmas
  lends itself to increase in bacteria that cause
  foodborne illness because the fridge is
  overloaded, the weather is hot and more food is
  prepared than usual

3
Cleaning Washcloths For Christmas

• Keeping your kitchen clean is essential to
  keeping food safe
• Wash kitchen cloths and sponges regularly and
  leave them to dry before using them again
• Use different cloths for different jobs
• Disposable kitchen towel is the preferred choice,
  because it can be thrown away and reduces the
  risk of cross-contamination, that is, the
  transfer of pathogens from one surface to another

4
Cleaning Worktops For Christmas

• Worktops
• Always wash and sanitise worktops before you
  start preparing food
• Wipe up any spilt food immediately
• Always wash worktops thoroughly after they have
  been touched by raw meat, poultry, or raw eggs
• Never put ready-to-eat food on worktops that has
  been touched by raw meat, unless you have washed
  it thoroughly first

5
How Often Do You Need To Wash YourHands When
Preparing The Christmas Dinner?

• Wash your hands
• Before, during and after preparing food
• After touching raw meat
• After going to the toilet
• After touching the bin
• After touching pets
• After coughing or sneezing
• As necessary to maintain safe hygienic conditions

6
How To Wash Hands When Preparing The Christmas
Dinner?

• How to wash hands?
• Wash hands and forearm with soap and warm water
  for at least 20 sec
• Rinse thoroughly and dry with disposable
  single-use paper towel

7
Use Of Gloves To Prevent Cross-Contamination

• Hands should be washed before gloves are put on
  and after they are taken off
• Gloves protect against cross-contamination
• Plastic single use gloves are used for one task
  only such as working with raw meat or poultry
• Discard gloves when soiled or damaged
• Change gloves when interruptions occur during
  food preparation

8
Buying Food For Christmas

• If you are buying fresh meat or poultry e.g. a
  fresh turkey, buy it as close to Christmas as
  possible and store in your fridge straight away
• If you are buying frozen meat, put it in the
  freezer without delay to ensure it stays frozen
• Avoid keeping food in temperature danger zone
  between 5 ºC and 60 ºC

9
Storing Food For Christmas

• Fridges should be set between 1-5ºC
• A fridge thermometer should be used to check that
  your fridge temperature is at the right
  temperature
• Keep cold foods below 5 ºC and hot foods over
• 60 ºC
• Avoid overloading your fridge since this prevents
  cold air from circulating properly and can stop
  it from working properly. Use first-in-first-out
  rotation

10
Defrosting Food For The Christmas Dinner

• Defrosting
• All meat and meat products should be defrosted
  thoroughly in the fridge, allowing 24 h for every
  4-5 lbs of weight
• Meat and meat products when fully defrosted
  should be stored in the fridge if not used
  immediately

11
Precautions Taken When Gutting Fresh Poultry

• Handle and remove the internal organs well away
  from other foods to avoid contamination
• Use disposable cloths, paper towels and
  disposable gloves whenever possible
• The guts should be removed carefully from the
  rear of the bird and heart from the neck

12
Precautions Taken When Gutting Fresh Poultry
(Contd)

• Avoid rupturing the intestines and spilling the
  contents of the gut
• Keep work surfaces and equipment clean and dry
  during use

13
Precautions Taken After Gutting Fresh Poultry

• Wash poultry carefully as to avoid splashing that
  may cause bacteria to spread around the kitchen
• Dispose internal organs and any other inedible
  material carefully in a waste bin
• Wash utensils and work surfaces thoroughly in
  warm soapy water after use, if possible,
  disinfect them

14
Internal Cooked Temperature Guide For Poultry

• Ground chicken, turkey 74 ºC
• Whole chicken,turkey
• Medium, unstuffed 77 ºC
• Well done 82 ºC
• With stuffing 82 ºC
• Poultry breasts, roasts 82 ºC
• Thighs, wings cook until juices run clear

15
Internal Cooked Temperature Guide For Fresh Pork
Ham

• Medium done fresh pork 71 ºC
• Well done pork 77 ºC
• Ham 71 ºC
• Fresh, raw (leg) 71 ºC
• Fully cooked, to reheat 60 ºC

16
Internal Cooked Temperature Guide For Fresh Beef,
Veal Lamb

• Ground meat e.g. hamburger 71 ºC
• Roasts and steaks
• Medium rare 63 ºC
• Medium 71 ºC
• Well done 77 ºC

17
Preparing The Christmas Dinner

• Cooking
• Foods should be prepared close as possible to
  eating time
• Meat should be cooked thoroughly and should have
  an internal temperature of 75 ºC
• Ensure there is no pink meat and that the juices
  run clear, not pink
• Cook stuffing preferable outside the meat/bird
  because stuffing slows down cooking and cooling

18
Preparing The Christmas Dinner (Contd)

• Cooking
• If stuffing is cooked inside the bird, stuff just
  the neck region and not the entire bird
• Allow extra time for cooking taking into
  consideration the extra weight of the stuffing

19
Dealing With Leftovers After The Christmas Dinner

• Leftover meat should be taken off the bone, cut
  into small pieces and stored in a shallow
  container and refrigerate within two hours of
  serving
• Once refrigerated leftover meat should be eaten
  within three days
• All re-heated foods should be steaming hot all
  the way through at least 75 ºC

20
Transporting Food Safely

• Hot food should be wrapped in foil and heavy
  towels or carried or in insulated containers with
  hot packs
• Cold foods should be transported in a cooler with
  ice or freezer pack so that the food remains at 5
  ºC or lower

21
Common Foodborne BacteriaAssociated With
Improperly Prepared Christmas Food

• Salmonella
• Staphyloccus aureus
• Listeria monocytogenes

22
Common Foodborne Bacteria Associated With
Improperly Prepared Christmas Food (Contd)

• Campylobacter jejuni
• Clostridium botulinum
• Shigella
• Echerichia coli 0157H7

23
Keeping The 4 Cs For Christmas

• Cook meat and meat products steaming hot until
  juices run clear
• Clean hands before handling food. Clean utensils
  and scrub chopping boards between preparing raw
  and cooked food
• Cover and separate raw food from cooked or
  processed food
• Chill food to prevent or reduce spoilage and
  deterioration

24
Conclusion

• Food poisoning could dampen the Christmas spirit
  and cause immense human suffering, it is
  therefore prudent for all those who are involved
  in food preparation from farm to fork to be
  aware and practice good hygiene, good sanitation,
  good temperature-time relationships when cooking
  and cooling and good temperature controlled
  storage when preparing food for Christmas

25
Thank You!

• Dr. Deryck D. Pattron
• FDI, Ministry of Health
• Trinidad, West Indies
• Email ddpattron_at_tstt.net.tt