By the Numbers
Healthful Holiday Cooking Reminders
Fancy dips, tempting hors d'oeuvres and delicious desserts are some of the culinary treats we see at holiday dinners, office parties or other celebrations. However, these get-togethers could result in foodborne illness if you are not careful!
A study found that 66 percent of participants did not use a thermometer to check meat temperatures and even when participants did use a food thermometer, only 54 percent reached the safe internal cooking temperature.1
Participants also spread potentially harmful bacteria from raw meat and poultry onto other surfaces or food items in the kitchen. The study found that participants contaminated the following during meal preparation.1
- 48 percent of the spice containers
- 11 percent of refrigerator door handles
- 11 percent of water faucet handles
- five percent of chef salads
These statistics are concerning when you consider that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that millions of Americans are sickened with foodborne illness (also known as food poisoning) each year, resulting in roughly 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths.
Make sure you’re protecting your guests. Always practice good food safety habits like:
- proper hand hygiene
- safe cooking temperatures
- keeping foods separated during preparation
- cooking and retaining food at safe temperatures.2
