The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has issued a reminder to residents about food safety practices during the holiday season. The department emphasizes four main steps: clean, separate, cook, and chill.
Troy Huffman, CDPHE’s retail food program manager, advised starting with proper thawing methods for frozen foods. “Start with thawing food in the refrigerator. Place items on a tray or on the very bottom of the refrigerator to catch any juices that may leak from the packaging to avoid cross-contamination with other foods,” Huffman said. He also explained how long it takes to thaw turkeys based on their weight: “The number of days a frozen turkey takes to thaw in a refrigerator depends on the size. A turkey 4-12 pounds takes one to three days to thaw, 12-16 pounds takes three to four days, 16-20 pounds takes four to five days, and 20-24 pounds takes five to six days.”
The department outlined key tips for safe food handling:
Clean: Hands should be washed with soap and water regularly during meal preparation, especially after touching raw meat or seafood. Food preparation surfaces must be cleaned often after contact with raw foods. People who are ill should not prepare or handle food.
Separate: Raw meats, poultry, seafood, and eggs need to be kept apart from other foods while shopping, storing in the fridge, or using cutting boards.
Chill: Foods containing meat, dairy products, eggs, fish, or poultry should not be left at room temperature. Leftovers must be refrigerated within two hours after cooking; this includes pumpkin or custard pies.
Cook: The department recommends cooking stuffing separately from turkey and ensuring both reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit before serving. Ham should reach 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Recipes containing eggs need thorough cooking at temperatures of at least 155 degrees Fahrenheit. A thermometer should be used in the thickest part of the food without touching bone or fat.
Additional resources for safe holiday meal preparation can be found through national organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s page on preparing your holiday turkey safely (https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/communication/holiday-turkey.html), Food and Drug Administration’s Safe Food Handling (https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/safe-food-handling), U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Basics (https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics), as well as Colorado State University Extension’s Food Smart Colorado (https://foodsmartcolorado.colostate.edu/).
