In the lead-up to Thanksgiving, health officials are renewing advice to avoid common food safety mistakes that could ruin your holiday.
The kitchen ahead of a holiday is full of vegetables, stuffing, gravy and of course, turkey. As delicious as each one is, they all pose a threat of food-borne illness.
And while it is essential to rinse greens and cranberries, washing off other parts of the meal may do more harm than good.
Despite what the family recipe might say, experts urge you to not rinse your turkey because it can spread harmful germs to your sink, countertops, surrounding cookware and even yourself.
Health experts say turkeys should never be washed unless they've been brined or soaked in a salt water solution for at least 24 hours.
The recommendation against rinsing poultry by federal health agencies has existed since 2005, but if generations of your family have been doing it for as long as you can remember, it might be a tough habit to break.
According to the Department of Agriculture, many consumers think washing their turkeys will remove bacteria and reduce the risk of food-borne illness.
‘However, it’s virtually impossible to wash bacteria off the bird. Instead, juices that splash during washing can transfer bacteria onto the surfaces of your kitchen, other foods and utensils,' the USDA said.
A healthy bird naturally has bacteria in its gut and on its skin that could be harmful to humans, including Salmonella, Campylobacter, Clostridium perfringens, Listeria, E. coli, and Staphylococcus aureus.
Around 48 million people get sick with these and other food-borne pathogens a year, and 128,000 people are hospitalized, suffering from violent vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, and fevers.
This holiday, the only surefire way to make your meal safe to eat is to cook the turkey to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
If you do decide to rinse your turkey, immediately sanitize the sink and surrounding area with a solution of 1 tablespoon unscented, liquid chlorine bleach per gallon of water.