Like other raw foods, poultry should be handled with care to minimize the risk of foodborne illness. Most foodborne illness is caused by storing foods at room temperature, cooking or reheating at too low a temperature, or for too short a time, keeping cooked foods at room temperature, washing hands improperly, using poor personal hygiene, and using the same utensils and serving dishes for raw and cooked foods.

Proper washing of hands and utensils is a crucial step in the prevention of food-related illness. Wash you hands with warm soapy water for at least 20 seconds immediately before you start cooking and between cooking tasks and dry them on clean towel. Use separate cutting boards for raw meats, cooked meats, and vegetables and fruit.

Wash utensils with hot, soapy water after each use and allow drying completely. In addition, cutting boards should be rinsed with a dilute, freshly made chlorine bleach solution (1-tablespoon household bleach per 1-quart water).

Poultry should be kept refrigerated until preparation time. Defrost frozen chicken in the refrigerator, allowing up to 9 hours to defrost parts and about 24 hours to defrost a whole 4-pound chicken. Do not let raw poultry juices drip onto other foods in your refrigerator. If time is short, place poultry in an airtight bag in cold water for at least 2 hours (change water every 30 minutes to keep it cold) or defrost in the microwave and then cook immediately. Individually wrapped parts can be cooked straight from the freezer; be sure to allow about 50 percent more time for cooking.

Rinsing chicken before cooking is a matter of personal choice. If you rinse your chicken, scrub the sink with hot soapy water afterwards.

Because bacteria in raw foods can contaminate cooked foods, it's important to keep the two apart. Wash thoroughly with soap and water any bowl or platters that held raw chicken before using them for other items. Discard raw poultry marinades or boil them for at least 1 minute before serving them with cooked chicken or vegetables.

An important food safety rule to remember is to keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. Most disease-causing bacteria are killed at temperatures above 140°F. To ensure all disease-causing bacteria are killed throughout unevenly shaped poultry pieces; internal temperature recommendations are slightly higher-165°-180° F., depending on the part. Bacteria are not killed at temperatures below 40°F., but low temperatures slow their growth. So adjust your refrigerator to keep the temperature no higher than 40°F.

Cook foods completely in one step. Partial cooking may allow surviving bacteria to grow. Chicken should always be cooked well done. However, thorough cooking cannot make up for improper food handling because some harmful bacteria release toxins (poisons) that are not destroyed by heat.

Most foods can safely remain at temperatures between 40°F. and 140°F. for no more than 2 hours, including serving time and time cooling in the refrigerator. Foods kept in a chafing dish that is hotter than 140°F. can be held for about 4 hours. To chill cooked foods as quickly as possible, place them in a covered shallow pan or container in the refrigerator or freezer immediately after the meal is finished. Use the leftovers within 2 to 4 days. Reheat leftovers to at least 165°F.

Proper wrapping and storage help keep raw and cooked chicken at top quality.

1. Refrigerate fresh chicken in its original package in a low, cold part of the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Freeze uncooked chicken if it will not be used within that time.
2. For extra protection, place chicken in a plastic bag to separate it from other foods. Store it on a low shelf of the refrigerator so it does not drip onto other items in the refrigerator.
3. When freezing, wrap parts separately in foil or other freezer wrap. This makes it easy to defrost only the amount you need. Proper wrapping prevents "freezer burn," which results from contact with air.
4. Wrap cooked chicken well before storing in the refrigerator or freezer. The following guidelines show how long you can safely store raw and cooked chicken. To ensure it is at highest quality, storage longer than these times is not recommended.

	REFRIG ( 40°F.)	FREEZER ( 0°F.)
Raw chicken parts	1-2 days	9 Months
Raw chicken, giblets, Ground chicken	1-2 days	3-4 Months
Raw whole chicken	1-2 days	1 Year
Cooked chicken parts not in broth of gravy	2-3 days	4 Months
Cooked whole chicken	2-3 days	4 Months
Cooked ground chicken	1-2 days	3-4 Months

a time for family and friends to gather, socialize and have fun.

The following tips can help keep your picnics and meals away from home as safe as possible.

1. Pack raw poultry in a sealed container or bag in a cooler with ice or cold packs so that the temperature stays below 40°F. Keep the poultry at the bottom of the cooler so that its juices do not leak onto other foods.
2. Keep uncooked poultry and meats in a cooler until ready to cook.
3. At very warm temperatures, cooked foods should be kept out for no longer than 1 hour. Keeping cooked leftovers out may be risky because the food may have been exposed to flies, dirty hands, and extended warm temperatures.
4. When bringing a bag lunch, wrap food well and keep them either cold with a freezer pack or frozen juice carton, or hot in an insulated container.
5. Keep cooler and lunch bags in the shade.

Meat, poultry, fish, and eggs should never be eaten raw.
These foods should be maintained in a refrigerator at a temperature below 40 degrees Fahrenheit and cooked thoroughly before eating. A cooking temperature of 160 degrees is advised. When cooking, use a meat thermometer or follow these tips:

Poultry: Cook it until the meat is white, and don’t eat it if you see blood or pink meat.

Fish: Cook until it flakes easily and is no longer translucent in the center.

Eggs: Cook eggs and egg dishes thoroughly. Don’t even sample anything containing raw eggs such as uncooked dough and cake batter.

Steaks: Can be safely cooked medium; that’s because harmful bacteria in beef are found on the surface of the steak, not in the interior like in ground meats.

Other tips for safe food handling, preparation and storage:

Keep foods cold, below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, or hot, above 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Foods left out between those temperatures for more than two hours should be discarded.

Keep cooked foods separate from raw foods. Cross-contamination of foods could occur if bacteria-harboring raw food comes in contact with cooked foods. Wash hands, utensils, cutting boards and countertops after preparing or handling raw meats.

Avoid interrupted cooking. If you are partially cooking foods indoors to finish cooking on the grill, make sure the food goes directly from the oven to the hot grill. Don’t let the food stand partially cooked for any period of time.

Store leftovers in separate containers and refrigerate.

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It is important to practice safe food handling and preparation methods throughout the year, but the hectic holidays can present even more possibilities for food poisoning at home: larger-than-usual meals often are being prepared; new recipes and cooking techniques may be tried; buffets may be set out for guests; large amounts of leftovers may remain for additional meals; food may be transported from one home to another, etc.

Of special concern this time of year is the increased risk of food poisoning associated with the popular custom of stuffing turkeys prior to cooking
— a practice not recommend by food safety experts. With the potential for food poisoning increased during the holidays, it is especially important to remember safe food handling and preparation practices. Here are a few tips:

Thaw turkey in the refrigerator, not on the counter top

Room temperature encourages the growth of bacteria, so defrost your turkey in the refrigerator rather than on the counter top. Allow one day of defrosting for each five pounds of turkey weight. You can safely refrigerate the thawed turkey another day or two, but don't let the juices drip on other foods. To reduce defrosting time, wrap the bird in a waterproof plastic bag and submerge it in cold water. Cold water slows the bacterial growth that may occur in the thawed outer portions while the inner areas are still thawing. Change the water every 30 minutes.

Cook the stuffing separate from the turkey

Stuffing placed inside an uncooked turkey is susceptible to bacterial growth, and it is especially ill-advised to stuff an uncooked turkey before storing it in the refrigerator. Stuffing cooked inside a turkey may not get hot enough for any dangerous bacteria in it to be killed — even if the turkey itself is completely cooked and has reached the recommended internal temperature of 180 degrees Fahrenheit. The tighter the turkey is stuffed the greater the risk, because the center is even more insulated during cooking from the bacteria-killing heat. If cooked long enough to kill the bacteria in the stuffing, the turkey will probably be drier than most people like. So cook the stuffing separate from the turkey. To increase flavor, use chicken broth instead of water in the stuffing recipe. Adding more onions or celery will increase the moisture content. Cover the dish for half the cooking time — then uncover it for browning.

Don't interrupt the cooking process

Cooked, whole, stuffed turkeys don’t store safely in the refrigerator. Remove the stuffing from a turkey cooked in advance and refrigerate it immediately. Allow the turkey juices to settle for 20 to 30 minutes, then carve the bird into serving slices, place them in shallow containers, cover and refrigerate. When it's time to serve, reheat the slices and the stuffing in a conventional or microwave oven to a temperature of at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Make sure cooking temperatures are high enough to kill bacteria

The temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit are the most dangerous for bacterial growth. Bacteria grow best — and some produce heat-resistant toxins — in this temperature range. Cooking a turkey at less than 325 degrees is unsafe because it lets the bird and the stuffing remain in the danger zone too long. A meat thermometer, inserted into the thickest part of the thigh next to the body but not touching the bone, is the best way to assure proper cooking to at least 180 degrees. Stuffing should be heated to at least 165 degrees.

Take extra care with holiday buffets

Be sure you have enough room in your refrigerator for the perishable foods you plan to serve at holiday buffets. Servings are best kept small and replenished directly from the refrigerator or stove. The longer food is kept out, especially beyond two hours, the greater the risk of food poisoning even if hot trays or chaffing dishes are used. Refrigerate perishables — especially the turkey and other meat and poultry products — as soon as possible after your guests have finished eating.

Careful storage of leftovers minimizes food poisoning

Reheated leftover turkey and stuffing shouldn’t be kept out to serve for more than two hours before being refrigerated or frozen. Perishable foods left at room temperature for longer than two hours are susceptible to bacteria that can multiply to dangerous levels and cause food poisoning. Leftover turkey can be safely refrigerated for three to four days, but stuffing and gravy should be used within a day or two. To speed up the cooling process, slice leftovers into serving sizes and store them in several small or shallow, covered containers.

Wrap food properly to prevent freezer burn

If leftover turkey won't be used within three or four days, or stuffing within one or two, wrap them separately in freezer paper or heavy duty foil and freeze them. Proper freezing prevents "freezer burn" — white dried-out patches on the surface of food that make it tough and tasteless. The oldest packages should be used first, so it’s helpful to put a date on them before you freeze them. You can safely freeze turkey, stuffing and gravy for about a month. Frozen turkey and stuffing should be reheated to the proper temperatures before serving, and leftover gravy should be reheated to a rolling boil.

Be especially careful when making homemade eggnog

Laying hens are suspected of transmitting bacteria directly into the interior of eggs before the shells are formed. Eggnog mixtures made from raw eggs should be cooked or microwaved to 160 degrees Fahrenheit or until it thickens enough to coat a spoon, then refrigerated at once. Pasteurized eggs are used in commercial eggnog so no cooking is necessary. Homemade eggnog using egg substitutes is also safe since these frozen commercial products have been pasteurized.

Raw eggs in holiday recipes demand special care

The high temperatures required to cook cakes, cookies and candy containing raw eggs are sufficient to kill bacteria. However, the raw eggs in cookie dough may present a hazard, especially to children, the elderly and those with certain health problems, so uncooked cookie dough is not safe to eat. Using egg substitutes and margarine for Hollandaise sauce eliminates the hazard posed by raw eggs and offers the added benefit of no cholesterol. For chocolate mousse, melt the chocolate with the liquid called for in the recipe, add the eggs and heat gently to 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

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