‘Tis the season for food safety

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – As we enter the holiday season, many of us will fill up on turkey, ham and too many sauces and dips to count. But there’s an invisible danger that comes along with all that holiday eating.

Foodborne illness, or food poisoning, is a risk that comes with improper cooking and handling of food. Aaron Sowell, a chef at Pub by Novo, says cooking foods like turkey at 165 degrees all the way through is a must for killing bacteria that naturally lives inside the food. He says the best way to make sure the turkey gets hot enough is to use a food thermometer that can be inserted into the turkey.

Storing food properly is important, and that means keeping foods chilled below 40 degrees or heated above 140 degrees because those temperatures help keep bacteria levels lower in food. That means your risk of getting sick from eating those foods is also lower. And washing your hands before handling food and after handling one type of food before touching other foods keeps you from spreading bacteria form one dish to another. Using separate utensils to stir different dishes is helpful, too.