Remember Food Safety

When celebrating the holidays, protect yourself and your guests from food-borne illness by keeping bacteria off the guest list. Many people like to invite friends and family over for a holiday feast, so it is important to practice safe food handling techniques when entertaining. “Dinner parties and buffets are always very popular around the holidays — but they can cause an unwanted trip to your doctor’s office or the emergency room if proper food handling is not used,” said Dr. Marc Kobernick, Sharp Grossmont Hospital’s chief of staff and a Sharp-affiliated emergency room physician. “Foods that are left out for long periods can be an ideal setting for bacteria to multiply. During this busy time of year, people must remember to take special precautions to keep food safe.”

There are four basic food safety tips to help reduce the risk of food-borne illness:

  • Chill — refrigerate promptly
  • Clean — wash hands and surfaces often 
  • Cook — cook to proper temperatures 
  • Separate — don’t cross-contaminate 

When preparing buffets and party platters, be sure to practice these steps along with the tips below for a safe and bacteria-free holiday:

  • Always serve food on clean plates — never put cooked food on plates that previously held raw meat, poultry or seafood. Keep raw meat, poultry and seafood away from fruits and vegetables so juices will not cross-contaminate foods. 
  • Always wash your hands with warm water and soap before and after handling food. Keep your kitchen, dishes and utensils clean, too. Clean up kitchen surfaces with a clean cloth or paper towels.
  • Arrange and serve food on several small platters rather than one large tray. Replace empty platters rather than adding fresh food to a dish that has already been used.
  • Cook foods thoroughly to safe internal temperatures, as measured with a food thermometer: roast beef to 145 degrees Fahrenheit for medium rare and 160 degrees Fahrenheit for medium; poultry to a minimum of 165 degrees Fahrenheit; ground meats to 160 degrees Fahrenheit and ground poultry to 165 degrees Fahrenheit. 
  • Don’t let foods sit at room temperature for more than two hours. Keep track of how long foods have been sitting on the buffet table and discard anything left out for two hours or more.
  • Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. Hot foods can be kept hot with chafing dishes, Crock-Pots and warming trays, and should be 140 degrees Fahrenheit or warmer. Cold foods can be kept cold by placing dishes in bowls of ice and should be 40 degrees Fahrenheit or colder. 
  • Promptly refrigerate and store leftovers in shallow containers. Most cooked dishes can keep for up to three to four days in the refrigerator. Reheat thoroughly to 165 degrees Fahrenheit until food is hot and steaming.

For More Information
For more information about nutrition counseling, please call 619-740-4632. For more information about nutrition support services for patients, please call 619-740-4621. For health, wellness and weight management classes, please call 1-800-82-SHARP (1-800-827-4277).

To learn more about Sharp's nutrition services or to find a Sharp-affiliated physician, search for San Diego doctors or call 1-800-82-SHARP (1-800-827-4277), Monday through Friday, 8 am to 6 pm. To find general information about nutrition, read the Nutrition News archive.