Press Release
Top Turkey Tips
Food poisoning has the potential to ruin your Christmas. With so many other things on your mind at this busy time of year, you may forget the importance of food safety.
The Environmental Health Department have 10 tips to help you avoid food poisoning while cooking your turkey this Christmas.
- Don't wash your turkey - it actually spreads germs by splashing.
- Defrost your turkey thoroughly if it's frozen - in the fridge or a cold room where the temperature is below 5 °C.
- Make sure your turkey is thoroughly cooked - cut into the thickest part of the meat and check the juices run clear.
- Store raw and cooked foods separately - in the fridge raw food should be at the bottom, cooked at the top.
- Never use the same utensils or surfaces for raw and cooked food unless they are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected between times.
- Cool leftovers quickly and put them in the refrigerator.
- Try and use up leftovers within two days unless you freeze them.
- If you are re-heating food - make sure it is piping hot throughout.
- Never re-heat food more than once.
- Make sure your refrigerator works properly and don’t overload it. It should keep food at between 1°C and 5 °C.