Happy and Safe Thanksgiving
A food safety expert says if you are the one preparing the Thanksgiving meal today, you’ll want to wash your hands frequently during the process.
Meredith Carothers with USDA's Meat and Poultry Hotline spoke with the agency reporters.
Washing before preparing food seems obvious but studies conducted in test kitchens before the COVID pandemic showed hardly anyone washing their hands every time they should have.
Carothers: “You always want to start food preparations by washing your hands. Before you touch anything, you‘ll want to wash your hands. And then pretty much throughout the food preparation process and anytime you’re touching raw meat or poultry products, washing your hands after you’ve touched those and before you touch anything else.
And it’s especially important to wash your hands after handling raw meat before you touch any foods that won’t be cooked because the bacteria you may have picked up will be transferred onto that food and anything else you touch.
The Centers for Disease Control estimates 48 million people get sick from foodborne diseases every year, some quite seriously.
The USDA's Meat and Poultry Hotline number is 888-MPHOTLINE(888-674-6854) You can also go online to Ask.usda.gov
