Connecticut Health Department Offers Holiday Food Safety Tips

The Connecticut Department of Public Health is reminding people to be careful preparing food for the holidays so they don’t get sick.

Tracey Weeks is coordinator of the department’s food protection program. She says one in six Americans will get sick from food poisoning this year. Most will recover but some people can get very sick or even die.

She says holiday buffets, party trays or even poorly stored turkeys can make people sick.

The department recommends people wash their hands thoroughly and wash and sanitize surfaces that come into contact with food.

Turkeys also must be properly thawed and should be cooked until their internal temperatures reach 165 degrees. The stuffing also needs to reach that temperature and the safest way to cook it is outside the turkey.

Topics Connecticut