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Your Map to a Food-Safe Holiday

Nov. 9, 2024 Reviewed and updated.
Infographic, "Your Map to a Food-Safe Holiday" and introductory paragraph from Winter Holiday Food Safety (FoodSafety.gov)

Click to enlarge.
Click to enlarge.
No matter what's on your menu, food is always a central part of holiday festivities. Whether you're an experienced cook, a first-time party host, or bringing a dish to a potluck dinner check out these resources for ensuring that holiday buffets and mail-order food are free from the germs that cause foodborne illness.

From "Your Map to a Food-Safe Holiday" Infographic

Follow some simple food safety advice to keep you and your guest feeling festive this winter.

  • Proper Prepping 
    Just as you have a procedure for storing your holiday gifts when you get home, you should have a system for storing your food.
    • Make sure you fridge is set at or below 40ºF.
    • Chill perishable groceries within 2 hours of shopping
    • Store raw meats in a container or dish to prevent juices from leaking, and set below ready-to-eat foods.
    • Wash your hands for 20 seconds with warm water and soap.
    • Be sure to separate raw meat from ready-t-eat foods and dishes.
    • Don't forget: You need two thermometers. One for the fridge to ensure food is stored at 40ºF; one for food, particularly meat to ensure it's cooked to the right temperature.
  • Welcome to Roastville 1
    Always use a food thermometer to check that different holiday meats have been cooked to the right internal temperature.
    • Ground Beef 160ºF
    • Duck 165ºF
    • Turkey 165ºF
    • Goose 165ºF
    • Veal 145ºF and rest 3 minutes before carving or consuming
    • Pork 145ºF and rest 3 minutes before carving or consuming
    • Lamb 145ºF and rest 3 minutes before carving or consuming
    • Steak 145ºF and rest 3 minutes before carving or consuming
  • Hitting the Road
    If you're bringing a dish to a get-together with coworkers, family or friends this holiday season, make sure you are transporting food safely.
    • Keep Cold Food Cold when transporting cold dishes, place items in a cooler with ice or gel packs to keep food at or below 40ºF
    • Keep Hot Food Hot. Keep hot foods at or above 140ºF by wrapping dishes in insulation bags or towels and newspaper.
  • Danger Zone - Do Not Enter
    • Perishable food kept in the Danger Zone (between 40ºF 140ºF) for longer than 2 hours should be thrown out.
    • Exceptions to Danger Zone include ready-to-eat items like cookies, crackers, bread, whole fruit.

1 More in Meat and Poultry Roasting Charts (FoodSafety.gov)

Excerpts from FoodSafety blog on tips for the Holidays

  • Use pasteurized eggs for dishes containing raw eggs. 
    Salmonella and other harmful germs can live on both the outside and inside of normal-looking eggs. Many holiday favorites contain raw eggs, including eggnog, tiramisu, hollandaise sauce, and salad dressings. Always use pasteurized eggs when making these and other foods made with raw eggs.
  • Know that raw flour and eggs can have germs.
    Uncooked dough and batter made with flour or eggs can contain harmful germs, such as E. coli and Salmonella. This includes dough or batter for cookies, cakes, pies, biscuits, pancakes, tortillas, pizza, or crafts. Some companies and stores offer edible cookie dough made with heat-treated flour and pasteurized eggs or no eggs. Read the label carefully to make sure the dough is meant to be eaten without baking or cooking.

from Holiday Food Safety (FDA.gov):

  • Ready-to-Cook Foods: Cook or Bake According to Package Directions Before You Eat
    Follow the directions on your ready-to-cook food packages to help keep yourself and your loved ones healthy.
    • Whether it’s packaged cookie dough or a frozen entrée or pizza or any of the other ready-to-cook foods we use for convenience, cook or bake them according to the directions on the package, to help keep your holidays happy. Eating them right out of the package, without cooking, could make you sick from bacteria. Cooking them according to the package directions before you eat them kills bacteria that could make you sick.
    • Most people who get sick from bacteria in ready-to-cook foods that aren’t cooked properly will get better by themselves, although foodborne illness isn’t a very pleasant way to spend the holidays. But anyone, of any age or health condition, could get very sick or die from these bacteria. This is especially true for people with weak immune systems; for example, the very young, the elderly, and people with diseases that weaken the immune system or who are on medicines that suppress the immune system (for example, some medicines used for rheumatoid arthritis).
    • People at Risk: Pregnant Women (FoodSafety.gov) also need to be especially careful to follow cooking directions on packages, since some bacteria are very harmful or deadly to unborn babies.

from Have a Food-Safe Holiday Season (USDA.gov):

  • Check out FoodKeeper app available on Android and Apple devices
    • The app provides storage timelines for the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry, for more than 500 products, including various types of baby food, dairy products and eggs, meat, poultry, produce, and seafood.
    • Users can view instructional videos on proper handling and storage of food and can also select to receive recall information.
    • The app is available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Additional Resources (not hot-linked above)