The U.S. Food and Drug Administration encourages consumers to pay special attention to… The U.S. Food and Drug Administration encourages consumers to pay special attention to the handling and preparation of foods during the upcoming holiday season. Keep in mind that the elderly, children and individuals with weakened immune systems – including pregnant women – are especially at risk for food-borne illnesses.

Because the holidays present special food-safety challenges, precautions are necessary in handling, cooking and refrigerating foods. To help ensure that holiday foods are not only delicious but also safe, FDA suggests taking these steps to reduce the risk of food-borne illnesses:

Clean: Wash hands and food-contact surfaces often. Bacteria can spread throughout the kitchen and get onto cutting boards, knives, sponges and counter tops.

Separate: Don’t cross-contaminate: Don’t let bacteria spread from one food product to another. This is especially true for raw meat, poultry and seafood. Experts caution to keep these foods and their juices away from ready-to-eat foods.

Separate for Safety:

Keep fruits and vegetables that will be eaten raw separate from other foods such as raw meat, poultry or seafood – and from kitchen utensils used for those products.

In addition, be sure to wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils and counter tops with hot water and soap between the preparation of raw meat, poultry and seafood products and the preparation of produce that will not be cooked.

For added protection, kitchen sanitizers can be used on cutting boards and counter tops periodically. Try a solution of one teaspoon of chlorine bleach to one quart of water.

If plastic or other non-porous cutting boards are used, run them through the dishwasher after use.

Baked goods:

FDA advises consumers not to eat uncooked cookie dough or batters made with raw fresh eggs because raw, fresh eggs may contain bacteria that can cause an intestinal infection called salmonellosis. Thorough cooking kills the bacteria that cause the infection. If any holiday recipes call for raw or lightly cooked eggs, you can use store-bought products of the foods listed above, which are often already cooked or pasteurized (but check the label to be sure). You can also purchase pasteurized eggs. These eggs are heat-processed to kill harmful bacteria. They can be found in some supermarkets and are labeled “pasteurized.” Here are several types consumers can buy:

Pasteurized eggs in the shell (found in the refrigerator section).

Liquid, pasteurized egg products (found in the refrigerator section).

Frozen, pasteurized egg products (found in the frozen food section).

Powdered egg whites (found in the baking section).

Eggnog:

Traditional eggnog made with raw eggs may also present the same risk to consumers – salmonellosis. While cooking can destroy the disease-causing bacteria, consumers can still become ill when the eggnog is left at room temperature for several hours before being consumed. Safe alternatives are pasteurized eggnog beverages sold in grocery dairy cases; these products should be kept refrigerated.

Apple cider and other juices:

Apple cider is often served during the holiday season. Apple cider and most juices are pasteurized or otherwise treated to destroy harmful bacteria. Some pasteurized juice can be found in the refrigerated or frozen sections of stores. Pasteurized or treated juice is often shelf-stable and is normally found in the non-refrigerated juice section of stores. It’s packaged in boxes, bottles or cans. Unpasteurized or untreated juice is normally found in the refrigerated sections of grocery stores, health-food stores, cider mills or farm markets.

Oysters and Seafood Safety:

It’s always best to cook seafood thoroughly to minimize the risk of food-borne illness. If, however, you choose to eat raw fish, one rule of thumb is to eat fish that has been frozen prior to purchase. Commercial freezing techniques can kill many harmful parasites found in some raw fish. Be aware, however, that freezing doesn’t kill all harmful microorganisms. That’s why the safest route is to cook all seafood.

Keep in mind that some people are at greater risk for food-borne illness and should not eat raw or partially cooked fish or shellfish. These susceptible groups include pregnant women, young children, older adults, persons whose immune systems are compromised and persons who have decreased stomach acidity.

Some oysters are treated for safety after they are harvested. That information may or may not be on the label. However, these oysters should still not be eaten raw by people who are at greater risk for food-borne illness. The post-harvest treatment eliminates some naturally occurring pathogens, but it does not remove all pathogens that cause illness.

Tips for Mail-Order Food Gifts:

Shipping:

Make sure the food is frozen solid or refrigerator cold.

Use an insulated cooler or a heavy corrugated box packed with a frozen gel pack or purchase dry ice for keeping food cold.

Alert the recipient ahead of time and set a mutually agreeable delivery date.

Properly label the package: “Perishable – Keep Refrigerated” on the outside, and provide a complete mailing address and phone number to ensure proper delivery. Ship your package by overnight delivery.

If food is sent via a mail-order company, be sure to specify overnight delivery, and request that the company supply a frozen gel pack or dry ice in the packaging. This will help ensure that the food will arrive at your destination firm and refrigerator cold.