How to avoid gift wrapping foodborne pathogens during the festive season

Many foodborne illnesses can be prevented by changing behaviors in the kitchen, especially during holidays when gatherings involve multiple cooks and a more vulnerable population that includes children and the elderly.

The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is tasked with ensuring that the nation’s commercial supply of meat, poultry and certain egg products is safe, wholesome and correctly labeled. Those are among the foods and beverages that annually sicken millions of Americans leading to 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

To help meet its public health goal of preventing foodborne illnesses, FSIS educates consumers on correct food safety behaviors through its “Food Safe Families” campaign. The campaign promotes four key behaviors to ensure consumers prepare safe food in home kitchens — clean, separate, cook and chill.

“Clean” reminds consumers to wash their hands and kitchen surfaces often during cooking. “Separate” prevents cross-contamination by encouraging consumers to keep their raw meats away from other foods. “Cook” informs consumers of the necessity of cooking their meat, poultry, fish and egg products to the right internal temperature. “Chill” highlights the importance of prompt refrigeration of food. Focusing on those behaviors provides consumers with actionable steps they can take to protect themselves and their family from food poisoning. 

Avoid getting your friends and family sick this holiday season by following the four steps to food safety:





Clean your hands thoroughly for a full 20 seconds with soapy water. Always serve food on clean plates and avoid reusing plates that previously held raw meat and poultry.


Separate raw meat, poultry and egg products from ready-to-eat foods.


Cook, using a food thermometer to make sure food reaches a safe minimum internal temperature:

Beef, pork, lamb and veal (steaks, chops and roasts): 145°F with a three minute rest.
Ground beef, pork, lamb and veal: 160°F.
Poultry (whole or ground): 165°F.



Chill leftovers within two hours of cooking. Keep track of how long items have been sitting on the buffet table and discard anything that has been out longer than two hours.



When traveling with perishable food, store it in a cooler to keep it cold. Use cold sources, such as ice packs, to keep food safe (40°F or below) and an appliance thermometer to measure the temperature inside the cooler.


Holiday Specials


If your eggnog is egg-based make sure to cook the base to a minimum safe temperature of 160°F.

 “Tiger meat” or “cannibal sandwiches” are a winter holiday dish common in the Midwest. It contains raw ground meat, usually beef, seasoned with spices and onion (and sometimes raw eggs), and served on bread or a cracker. Hundreds were sickened last year from eating this dish. Never eat raw meat. Both ground beef and raw eggs pose health hazards when eaten undercooked or raw. A safe alternative is to mix ground beef with spices and onion and cook it to a safe 160°F.

When baking this holiday season do not eat raw dough if it contains eggs.


Preparing Meat

A recent study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and North Carolina State University found that, in the control group, 66 percent of participants (132 out of 201) did not use a thermometer to check the temperature of the ground turkey burgers.


Even when participants did use a food thermometer, only 54 percent of turkey burgers reached the safe internal cooking temperature of 165°F.

When a food thermometer was used, 77 percent (130 out of 168) of attempts to use the thermometer were not in the correct location of the burger. In burgers, the food thermometer should be inserted through the side of the patty, until the probe reaches the center to detect cold spots.  Many people think that a smoked ham is safe in the refrigerator for a long time; this is a common mistake during the holidays. For example, spiral sliced hams may be stored in the refrigerator for three to five days. More information can be found on the FoodKeeper App or by calling the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-674-6854.

Dry heat methods of cooking, such as roasting, are the recommended methods for cooking tender meats. To roast, meat is placed on a rack in a shallow, uncovered pan and is cooked by the indirect dry heat of an oven. To keep the meat tender and minimize shrinkage due to the evaporation of moisture, a moderately low oven temperature of 325°F should be used.

Hams do not last for months in the refrigerator unless it is a country ham — a ham that is dry-cured with salt before smoking. Boned and rolled meats require more cooking time per pound than bone-in cuts because it takes longer for the heat to penetrate through the solid meat.

Campylobacter and Salmonella, bacteria found in poultry products, have been shown to survive on food contact surfaces for up to four and 32 hours, respectively. This can pose a health risk if the contaminated surfaces are not adequately cleaned and sanitized.
Many people think that a smoked ham is safe in the refrigerator for a long time; this is a common mistake during the holidays. For example, spiral sliced hams may be stored in the refrigerator for three to five days. More information can be found on the FoodKeeper App or by calling the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-674-6854.
Dry heat methods of cooking, such as roasting, are the recommended methods for cooking tender meats. To roast, meat is placed on a rack in a shallow, uncovered pan and is cooked by the indirect dry heat of an oven. To keep the meat tender and minimize shrinkage due to the evaporation of moisture, a moderately low oven temperature of 325°F should be used.
Boned and rolled meats require more cooking time per pound than bone-in cuts because it takes longer for the heat to penetrate through the solid meat.


Dangers of Transferred Bacteria

The study showed that unsafe food handling behaviors led to bacteria from raw poultry being spread to other locations in the kitchen. Most notably Participants transferred bacteria to:


48 percent of the spice containers they used during meal preparation.
11 percent of the refrigerator door handles.
11 percent of water faucet handles.
5 percent of the chef salads prepared.
Campylobacter and Salmonella, bacteria found in poultry products, have been shown to survive on food contact surfaces for up to four and 32 hours, respectively. This can pose a health risk if the contaminated surfaces are not adequately cleaned and sanitized.


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