Food Safety at Christmas

By

Dr. Deryck D. Pattron, Ph.D.

FDI, Ministry of Health,
Trinidad, West Indies
 Why Should Extra Care Be Taken To Keep
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 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 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 Your
Hands When Preparing The Christmas
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
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-
Contamination
 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 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 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 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
Poultry
 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
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
Poultry
 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
Poultry
 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
Fresh 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
Beef, 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 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)

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
Dinner

 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 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 Bacteria
Associated With Improperly Prepared
Christmas Food
 Salmonella
 Staphyloccus aureus
 Listeria monocytogenes

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 Common Foodborne Bacteria Associated
With Improperly Prepared Christmas Food
(Cont’d)
 Campylobacter jejuni
 Clostridium botulinum
 Shigella
 Echerichia coli 0157:H7

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 Keeping 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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 Conclusion
 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!
Dr. Deryck D. Pattron
FDI, Ministry of Health
Trinidad, West Indies
Email: ddpattron@tstt.net.tt

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