Published: 2:10 PM, 11/24/2009

Last updated: 12:52 PM, 11/30/2009

By: Melanie Marshall

State health officials are reminding North Carolina residents of a few tips for a safely prepared holiday meal.

The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources stresses five major components of preparation to prevent food-borne illnesses - clean, separate, cook, chill and discard.

The cook should wash hands and cutting surfaces thoroughly with soap and water often throughout the meal preparation. Bacteria can spread from knives, cutting boards and hands. DENR recommends using paper towels instead of sponges to clean surfaces, as sponges can trap and hold bacteria.

Raw and uncooked food should be kept in a separate area from prepared dishes to prevent contamination of the finished dishes. Cutting boards, utensils and platters used for raw foods should washed in hot, soapy water prior to use for ready-to-eat foods. 

It is important to cook foods to a high enough temperature to kill bacteria. Using a food thermometer, ensure turkey is cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees. This temperature should register in the thigh, wing and thickest part of the breast. Casseroles containing eggs should be cooked to 160 degrees at the thickest section. Food temperatures should not drop below 135 degrees to prevent the growth of bacteria. Food should never be partially cooked and finished at a later time.

Refrigerate foods within two hours. This includes meats, cooked vegetables and custard pies. Large portions of meat should be carved into sections no thicker than four inches to cool quickly.

Any food left out at room temperature for more than four hours should be discarded.

DENR also warns against consuming raw cookie dough or batter made with eggs, due to possible presence of the bacteria that causes salmonellosis. The same goes for eggnog made with raw eggs or unpasteurized cider or juices.

Turkey Tips:
Buying a fresh or frozen turkey is a preference, however, there are different handling instructions for each. A fresh turkey should be purchased no more than two days in advance and stored in the refrigerator in a container to prevent contamination from the juices. A frozen turkey should be thawed in the refrigerator slowly, allowing 24 hours for every five pounds. A container should also be used for thawing. A securely wrapped turkey may thawed in cold water, but the water should be changed every 30 minutes and the turkey cooked immediately after thawing.

Thawing the turkey completely is very important. If not fully thawed, the outside will be done before the inside reaches the 165-degree safe temperature.

The safest way to prepare stuffing is outside the turkey, but if stuffed, cooking times will vary.  Regardless of whether the stuffing is inside or outside, it must reach a minimum temperature of 165 degrees in the center.

For more in-depth coverage, see the latest print edition of the Watauga Democrat, available at hundreds of locations across the High Country.

To subscribe to the Watauga Democrat for less than 15 cents per day, click here (https://ssl.jonesmedia.biz/circ/index.php?db=watauga).