Rosalee Brown

These rules cannot be overemphasized because persons continue to make mistakes which result in food-borne illnesses and poisoning. Most persons cook larger amounts at this time of year than they normally do and oftentimes problems result from improper handling of the food after preparation. Food is left at room temperature for too long a period because of distractions with numerous activities, or most households do not have the storage space for these cooked items. Meals are prepared very early because of the volume and limited cooking facilities or persons to prepare them, and then they sit in the danger zone of 40-140 degrees F for more than two hours. This is dangerous as bacteria multiply rapidly in the danger zone.

Also refrigerators are filled to capacity and often cannot accommodate all items, or they are incorrectly stocked with their vents blocked, preventing ventilation, and the temperature is often higher than recommended because of the high traffic into the refrigerators.

Tips

Plan menu carefully, do not prepare foods way in advance if you cannot safely store them.

Use ice baths (that is, ice cubes in a large container in which a smaller container is placed) to store salads if the refrigerator is full.

Insulated containers with ice can also be used.

Put away excess before the meal is served, as most times the fun and games continue for hours before clean-up and storage of leftovers is done.

Remove stuffing and trimmings from turkey, ham, etc., before storage.

Use leftovers safely by storing wisely and reheating thoroughly.

Portion foods in just the right size for your purpose; do not thaw leftovers, then refreeze.

Cut into small pieces so the heat can penetrate quickly to thoroughly heat without overcooking.

Leftovers should be heated to 165 degrees F; soups and gravies should be brought to boiling point and held for a while.

Use leftovers in four days and sauces and gravies in two.

Do not store stuffings and trimmings, as the quality is difficult to be maintained.

Do not store leftover gravies and sauces unless they are cooled immediately after preparation, then frozen.

The top of the stove and the toaster oven are used for reheating by many persons, but more and more busy persons are using the microwave for cooking. Below are some tips for reheating safely in the microwave.

Microwave safely

The microwave oven can cook unevenly leaving cold spots where bacteria will thrive.

Arrange foods evenly in a dish. Add some liquid if possible - the moist heat generated will help to destroy some bacteria.

If meats are not arranged properly for storage and slices are clumped together in a large mass, you need to defrost before reheating to ensure even reheating.

Foods should be rotated, so if your oven is without a carousel, you need to manually do this.

Stir foods midway between reheating to ensure even heating.

After reheating foods in the microwave, allow standing time to continue the heating process.

Only use containers that are labelled for microwave cooking, as some containers can rise to very high temperatures which can cause burns. Some 'one use' or disposable storage containers can melt or warp, releasing unhealthy chemicals into food.

Stay safe.

Rosalee M. Brown is a registered dietitian/nutritionist who operates Integrated Nutrition and Health Services. Email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.