{"id":353570,"date":"2023-11-22T11:11:34","date_gmt":"2023-11-22T16:11:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/avoid-food-poisoning-this-holiday-season-drugs-com-mednews\/"},"modified":"2023-11-22T14:32:47","modified_gmt":"2023-11-22T19:32:47","slug":"avoid-food-poisoning-this-holiday-season-drugs-com-mednews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/avoid-food-poisoning-this-holiday-season-drugs-com-mednews\/","title":{"rendered":"Avoid Food Poisoning This Holiday Season – Drugs.com MedNews","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm<\/a>. Last updated on Nov 22, 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n

By Dennis Thompson and Carole Tanzer Miller HealthDay Reporters<\/p>\n

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 22, 2023 — The last thing a holiday host wants is to have guests get food poisoning from the feast they\u2019ve set.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why food safety is particularly important as people prepare for holiday festivities, poison control center experts say.<\/p>\n

\u201cForgetting about food safety is a recipe for disaster,\u201d Dr. Diane Calello<\/a>, executive medical director of the New Jersey Poison Control Center at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark, said in a news release. \u201cNo matter how busy your kitchen gets during the holidays, always remember the risks of improperly handling food.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each year an estimated 48 million Americans are sickened by food poisoning, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<\/p>\n

During holiday season last November and December, the New Jersey Poison Control Center alone received more than 200 calls asking about food poisoning, food preparation, serving and storage, experts said.<\/p>\n

Calello advises that people remember four steps for food safety: clean, separate, cook and chill.<\/p>\n

Folks should wash their hands often during food preparation, using warm water and soap. They also should rinse fruit and vegetables clean.<\/p>\n

Keeping raw meats, poultry and seafood separate from other food that requires no further cooking can prevent cross-contamination, Calello said.<\/p>\n

They should be kept separate when grocery shopping and in the refrigerator, and people should use separate cutting boards for each during preparation, she said.<\/p>\n

When cooking, people should use a thermometer to make sure foods are cooked to a safe internal temperature.<\/p>\n

And once the meal\u2019s done, people should immediately store leftovers in a fridge that\u2019s below 40 degrees. Perishable food should be refrigerated within two hours.<\/p>\n

Calello also recommends that people never thaw frozen food on a counter, since foodborne germs can grow very quickly in foods left at room temperature for more than two hours. Thaw instead in the fridge, in cold water or in the microwave.<\/p>\n

Holiday cooks should hand their duties over to someone else if they have sniffles, Calello advises.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t prepare food if you have any kind of respiratory illness or infection, as this puts your guests at risk of becoming ill,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Common questions the Poison Control Center gets during the holidays include:<\/p>\n