“With large meals come food safety risks, so when I prepare my family’s Thanksgiving dinner, I keep food safety in the forefront,” said Dr. Mindy Brashears, the USDA’s Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety. “Washing hands properly, keeping the raw turkey away from other ingredients, cooking turkey to a safe internal temperature of 165°F, and promptly refrigerating all of our leftovers within 2 hours after mealtime are all ways we keep our meal safe.” Follow these tips from USDA to ensure a food safe meal this Thanksgiving.

Tip 1: Wash your hands

The first step to safe food preparation is always handwashing. Handwashing reduces the risk of foodborne illness and is especially important after handling raw meat, poultry, seafood and egg products. In a recent USDA study, participants shockingly failed to wash their hands sufficiently nearly 100 percent of the time. Follow these five simple steps to wash your hands properly and keep your loved ones safe:

1. Wet your hands with clean, running water, turn off the tap, and apply soap.
2. Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Be sure to lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
3. Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end twice.
4. Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.
5. Dry your hands using a clean towel.

Tip 2: Prevent cross-contamination

Turkeys can be large and hard to handle, which makes the risk of cross-contamination higher during Thanksgiving meal preparation. Turkeys may contain Salmonella and Campylobacter, common pathogens that can cause foodborne illness. Our recent study found that 60% of sinks were contaminated after handling raw poultry in the sink, so if you handle your turkey in the sink, be sure to fully clean and sanitize your sink and other surfaces after handling your raw turkey and before prepping any other Thanksgiving sides and dishes

To clean surfaces, wash them with soap and warm water to remove dirt and debris. Then use a solution of chlorine bleach or an alcohol-based solution to sanitize. Sanitizing will reduce the number of bacteria present on a surface and ultimately leave your sinks, counters, and other surfaces safe from harmful bacteria.

Tip 3: Cook the turkey to 165°F

The only way to kill bacteria is to fully cook your turkey and any other dishes with raw meat, poultry, or egg products. They must be cooked to a safe internal temperature as measured by a food thermometer. To properly take the internal temperature of your turkey, test it in three areas — the thickest part of the breast, the innermost part of the wing, and the innermost part of the thigh. Once all three locations reach 165°F, the bird is safe to eat. If one of those locations does not register at 165°F, then continue cooking until all three locations reach the correct internal temperature.

Tip 4: Follow the two-hour rule

It’s tempting to go back for seconds (or even thirds), but perishable foods are only safe out on the table or buffet for two hours. After two hours, food will be in the Danger Zone, temperatures between 40-140°F, where bacteria can rapidly multiply and cause the food to become unsafe. Make sure all leftovers are placed in the refrigerator within two hours to safely enjoy them later. Put them in small, shallow containers. If foods have been left out for more than two hours, they should be discarded.

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Studies have shown that proper hand washing can effectively prevent the spread of disease. Autumn and winter seasons are high seasons for a variety of infectious diseases, and the prevention of these diseases can be effectively prevented by strengthening hand hygiene.

What should I pay attention to when washing my hands properly?

Always use running water when washing your hands. Do not use basin water. It takes at least 15 seconds to wash your hands. You can’t just wash your hands with water. Use soap or hand soap to remove pathogens. In addition, the soap should be kept dry during use, and the soap box should be cleaned in time. If the bottom of the box can not be kept dry, bacteria will also grow in a humid environment. In addition, it should be noted that many people share the soap and are not hygienic.

Misunderstanding of hand washing

Myth 1: All hand sanitizers can be sterilized

Hand sanitizers are mainly classified into common type and antibacterial type, so not all hand sanitizers have a bactericidal effect. In the antibacterial and germicidal hand sanitizer, the antibacterial type has a bactericidal effect, but the sterilization rate is relatively low, generally more than 90% can be labeled as an antibacterial effect, and the bactericidal hand sanitizer requires a sterilization rate of 99.99% for the target bacteria.

Myth 2: Wash hands with disposable hand sanitizer

With a disposable hand sanitizer, there will always be substances left on the surface of the hand, so use them as little as possible. It is best to wash your hands with running water and soap. In addition, many people use the “saving” wipes instead of washing their hands before eating. Experts pointed out that wet wipes can not replace hand washing, how to wipe the wet wipes repeatedly, and can not remove bacteria on the surface of the skin.

Myth 3: The more you use the hand sanitizer, the better.

Many people are afraid that they can’t be cleaned, so press a lot of hand sanitizer on the hand and wash it hard. In fact, such deep cleaning can damage the skin, so that the skin not only can not retain moisture, but also easier to invade the bacteria.

Myth 4: Wash your hands with a wash basin

Many people think that washing hands with a wash basin can also wash your hands. In fact, after repeated washing, the water in the wash basin is dirty. Wash your hands with dirty water, your hands are still dirty, and you won’t be able to wash your hands. Even many people use a basin of water to wash their hands, and the degree of contamination is even more serious.

Myth 5: Dry your hands with a towel after washing your hands

Dry hands or dry with a disposable paper towel after washing hands. It is best not to use a towel, because the towel is easy to hide the germs, it is easy to make the washed hands contaminated with germs, not to use public towels.

Misunderstanding 6: Do not wash your clothes after drying your clothes

Dirty clothes and bacteria in the washing machine will be contaminated on the clothes during the washing process. During the process of drying clothes, the hands are likely to be stained with these bacteria. After the clothes are exposed to ultraviolet rays, they can eventually achieve the purpose of disinfection, but the hands are often ignored.

Seven steps to properly wash your hands

The first step: wash your palms. Moisten your hands with water, apply hand sanitizer (or soap), palms, and close your fingers.

Step 2: Wash the back side finger joints. The palms of the hands are rubbed against each other along the back of the fingers, and the hands are exchanged.

The third step: wash the palm side finger joints. The palms are opposite, and the hands cross each other along the fingers.

Step 4: Wash your fingers. Bend each finger joint, and put the back of the finger in the palm of the other hand and rotate it with both hands.

Step 5: Wash your thumb. With one hand holding the other hand, the thumb is rotated and the hands are exchanged.

Step 6: Wash your fingertips. Bend each finger joint, close the fingertips and rotate it in the palm of the other hand, and exchange the hands.

Step 7: Wash your wrists and arms, rub wrist, arm, hands exchange.

Under what circumstances should I wash my hands?

1. Prepare food and contact with raw meat;

2, before meals (feeding), before taking medicine;

3. After contacting the coins;

4. After contacting others, especially after going to the hospital or after contacting the patient (before);

5. After the cleaning work is completed, the garbage is disposed of;

6, outdoor sports, homework, after shopping;

7. After the outdoor play is contaminated with dirty things;

8. After contact with blood, tears, sputum, sputum and saliva;

9. Before holding a child, especially those who have been exposed to infectious materials, they must be disinfected and washed repeatedly;

10. After touching the pet.

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