Food Safety At Party Time

Introduction

During the Christmas holiday celebrations, many people are likely to be preparing more food than usual and cooking for large numbers of guests. With these additional pressures, it can be all too easy to overlook basic food safety measures. It is, therefore, all the more important to observe the basic hygiene measures that help prevent food poisoning.

Preparing Food

• Try to keep the time that food is at room temperature to a minimum.
• Prepare foods as close as possible to the eating time.
• Before preparing your food for Christmas, make sure that there is enough room in the refrigerator to keep everything cold. Store raw meat at the bottom of the refrigerator to stop it dripping onto other foods.
• If there is not enough room in the refrigerator, remember that soft drinks and alcohol can be kept cool with ice in another container or alternatively kept outside until needed.
• Always wash your hands with soap and hot water and dry thoroughly before food preparation and after handling raw foods. As an extra precaution use antibacterial soap.
• If you have suffered from diarrhoea/vomiting, ensure you have been clear for 48 hours before carrying out food preparation.
• Make sure that you do not contaminate cooked food when handling raw food. Try to prepare foods which are not going to be cooked (like salads, sandwiches or bowls of nuts), before you prepare raw foods, especially raw meat.
• Use different knives and chopping boards for preparing raw and cooked foods.
• After preparing raw foods, clean surfaces down with a product designed to eliminate bacteria. Use a different cloth than the one used to wash-up. Kitchen roll is a good alternative.

Further Information: Food Standards Agency ~ Preparing Food and Other Related Information (opens new browser).

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Thawing

Frozen turkeys and poultry have to be thoroughly thawed before cooking. Manufacturers' instructions should always be followed. Thawing should take place in a refrigerator or cool room, but away from other foods which could be contaminated from the thawed liquid. Thawing should take place on a tray/in a container to avoid dripping. Once the bird has thawed, cook within 24 hours. To check the bird is completely thawed, make sure there are no ice crystals in the body cavity, that the legs are flexible and the body is pliable.

It is good practice to thaw ready-to-eat foods like casseroles, lasagne or frozen cold meats in the refrigerator or the microwave.

Some packaged frozen foods are intended by the manufacturer to be cooked from frozen. Always follow the instructions.

At Christmas and New Year, many people buy more food than usual; bear in mind that if you spend a long time shopping and queuing, frozen foods may begin to defrost, and chilled food may begin to warm up. It is not advisable to refreeze partly thawed food. So, if you are shopping for frozen/chilled foods, buy them last and if there may be a delay, use an insulated picnic bag or cool box. Make sure you take such foods straight home and put them in the freezer / refrigerator.

Further information:  Safer Eating At Christmas ~ Food Standards Agency (opens new browser).

Stuffing

It is strongly recommended that stuffing is cooked separately. If the bird is to be stuffed, this should be placed in the neck cavity only and additional cooking time must be added. Remember to remove the giblets.

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Cooking

Cook at a temperature of 190 degrees centigrade (375 degrees fahrenheit), gas mark 5 and baste regularly. To test that cooking is complete, insert a skewer into a thigh and ensure that the juices run clear. If you have a probe / meat thermometer, the temperature in the thickest part of the flesh should achieve 75°C or above. Serve straight after cooking, or if the bird is to be carved cold, cool it rapidly within 90 minutes and refrigerate.

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Twelve Tips for a Safe Party

1. Do not prepare food too far in advance.
2. Take chilled / frozen food home in cool bags.
3. Check the 'use by' dates.
4. Keep your kitchen clean.
5. Keep your fridge between 0 and 5 degrees centigrade.
6. Wash your hands thouroughly before and after handling food.
7. Keep cooked and raw food separate.
8. Plan the menu and defrost food thoroughly before use.
9. Keep pets away from food.
10. Store cooked food above raw food in a refrigerator.
11. Follow the cooking instructions on the packets.
12. Cook food thouroughly and "have a safe meal".

Further Information: Seasons and Celebrations ~ Food Standards Agency Advice on Eating Throughout the Year and Parties and Events (opens in new browser).

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Date Marking

It is easy to know when food is "off" by amongst other things the smell. But if the food is pre-packed, how can you tell whether the food is fit to be eaten?

One way is by looking at the date mark on the packaging.

There are two types of date mark, namely "Use By" and "Best Before".

A "Use By" date is, as the name suggests, the date by which a food should be used. This type of date mark is only applied to highly perishable foods, where to use the food past the date shown may pose a health risk e.g. food poisoning.

A "Best Before" date is different in that, as this name suggests, it is a date by which a food should be used if it is to be enjoyed at it's best. In other words this type of date mark relates to food quality rather than food safety. This type of date mark is only applied to those foods with a long shelf life including frozen and tinned foods.

Further Information: Food Standards Agency ~ Information on Best Before and Other Food Labelling (opens new browser).

Further Food Safety Information

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Created by	:	Environmental Services - Food
Last Updated	:	14 July 2008