Food Safety at Christmas By Dr. Deryck D. Pattron, Ph.D. FDI, Ministry of Health, Trinidad, West Indies.

Food Safety at ChristmasFood Safety at Christmas

ByBy

Dr. Deryck D. Pattron, Ph.D.Dr. Deryck D. Pattron, Ph.D.

FDI, Ministry of Health, FDI, Ministry of Health,

Trinidad, West IndiesTrinidad, West Indies

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

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Cleaning Washcloths For ChristmasCleaning 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

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Cleaning Worktops For ChristmasCleaning 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

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How Often Do You Need To Wash YourHow Often Do You Need To Wash YourHands When Preparing The Christmas Hands When Preparing The Christmas

Dinner?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

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How To Wash Hands When Preparing The How To Wash Hands When Preparing The Christmas Dinner?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

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Use Of Gloves To Prevent Cross-Use Of Gloves To Prevent Cross-ContaminationContamination

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

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Buying Food For ChristmasBuying 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

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Storing Food For ChristmasStoring 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

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Defrosting Food For The Christmas DinnerDefrosting 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

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Precautions Taken When Gutting Fresh Precautions Taken When Gutting Fresh PoultryPoultry

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

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Precautions Taken When Gutting Fresh Precautions Taken When Gutting Fresh Poultry (Cont’d)Poultry (Cont’d)

Avoid rupturing the intestines and spilling the contents of the gut

Keep work surfaces and equipment clean and dry during use

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Precautions Taken After Gutting Fresh Precautions Taken After Gutting Fresh PoultryPoultry

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

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Internal Cooked Temperature Guide For Internal Cooked Temperature Guide For PoultryPoultry

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

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Internal Cooked Temperature Guide For Internal Cooked Temperature Guide For

Fresh Pork & HamFresh 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

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Internal Cooked Temperature Guide For Fresh Internal Cooked Temperature Guide For Fresh Beef, Veal & LambBeef, Veal & Lamb

Ground meat e.g. hamburger 71 ºC Roasts and steaks

Medium rare 63 ºC Medium 71 ºC Well done 77 ºC

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Preparing The Christmas DinnerPreparing 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

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Preparing The Christmas Dinner (Cont’d)Preparing The Christmas Dinner (Cont’d)

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

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Dealing With Leftovers After The Christmas Dealing With Leftovers After The Christmas DinnerDinner

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

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Transporting Food SafelyTransporting 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

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Common Foodborne BacteriaCommon Foodborne BacteriaAssociated With Improperly Prepared Associated With Improperly Prepared

Christmas FoodChristmas Food

Salmonella Staphyloccus aureus Listeria monocytogenes

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Common Foodborne Bacteria Associated Common Foodborne Bacteria Associated With Improperly Prepared Christmas Food With Improperly Prepared Christmas Food

(Cont’d)(Cont’d)

Campylobacter jejuni Clostridium botulinum Shigella Echerichia coli 0157:H7

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Keeping The 4 C’s For ChristmasKeeping The 4 C’s 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

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ConclusionConclusion

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

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Thank You!Thank You!

Dr. Deryck D. PattronDr. Deryck D. PattronFDI, Ministry of HealthFDI, Ministry of Health

Trinidad, West IndiesTrinidad, West Indies

Email: Email: [email protected]