Make Sure a Foodborne Illness Doesn’t Ruin your Thanksgiving Dinner -- 11.21.2014
Press
Release
November 21,
2014
Contact
Jose
Rodriguez, Columbus Public Health, 604-5025
Make Sure a Foodborne Illness Doesn’t
Ruin your Thanksgiving Dinner.
Food Safety Tips -- Plus a Flu Shot --
Will Protect your Health During Holidays.
People will
soon be gathering for holiday meals with family and friends. But unless
you are careful when preparing, cooking and serving food, a foodborne illness
could make an unexpected – and very unwelcome -- visit.
A foodborne
illness does more than just make you sick. In addition to your stomach,
it can also hit your wallet with medical expenses, lost productivity and even
death. In fact, according to the Economic Research Service of the USDA,
$6.9 billion in costs are associated with foodborne illness every year from
just five bacterial pathogens alone.
To protect
your health this holiday season, Columbus Public Health Commissioner Dr. Teresa
Long offers these safety tips:
Food
Safety – Keep Food Safe Before, During and After You Cook It.
- Clean
– Wash hands and surfaces often with hot water and soap
when preparing and cooking food.
- Separate
– Use different clean dishes, cutting boards and
surfaces for raw meats and other foods.
- Cook
– Cook foods to proper internal
temperatures measured
by a thermometer and then keep them hot.
- Chill
– Refrigerate or freeze perishables, prepared food and
leftovers within two hours of purchase or use – and always thaw food in
the refrigerator which should have a consistent temperature of 40°F or
below.
- Use
utensils and discourage guests from using their hands to get food or pick
the turkey.
- Reheat all
leftovers to at least 165° F.
- Store
leftovers no more than four days in the refrigerator. Throw it away
after four days if not frozen.
- Leftovers
can be kept for four months if frozen, but must be eaten within four days
of thawing.
Protect
Yourself and Your Loved Ones from the Flu -- Get a Flu Shot!
- Get a flu
shot before getting together with family and friends. (Health
experts recommend a flu shot for everyone 6 months of age and older.)
- Cover your
cough/sneeze.
- Wash your
hands!
- Stay home
if you are sick.
“A flu shot
is the best way to protect yourselves and your loved ones from the flu,” says
Dr. Long. “And when you get a flu shot, you not only protect yourself,
but elderly grandparents, a cousin with cancer, a new baby and other vulnerable
family members who are at greater risk from complications.”
For more
information on food safety, visit Columbus Public Health at
publichealth.columbus.gov.
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