Holiday Food Safety

Don’t let food poisoning spoil your holidays!  Check out these resources from the Colorado State University Extension that offer tips on staying safe while enjoying some of our favorite holiday treats.

 Do you make your own eggnog?  The raw eggs used to prepare eggnog can be contaminated with Salmonella.  Follow the tips in Holiday Food Safety:  Safe Handling and Preparation with Eggs to avoid a health hazard.

The holidays can be so busy, that sometimes it is easiest to throw a meal in the crock pot and forget about it.  As convenient as slow cookers can be, the food — especially meat — still needs to reach a certain temperature before consuming.  Learn about the minimum safe temperatures and how to avoid heat loss in Crock Pot and Slow Cooker Food Safety.

If you’re expecting a guest who is expecting, or if you yourself are pregnant, be sure to read Food Safety During Pregnancy to learn what foods to avoid.  Also, if you’ll have little ones at the kiddie table, see Serving Children Safe Foods.

Many families enjoy making candy together during the holiday season.  Candy requires temperature adjustments for Colorado’s altitude, so to make sure your candy turns out right, see Candy Making at High Altitude.

Plan on having your buddies over for the New Years’ bowl games?  Check out Game Day Food Safety:  Ensure a Safe, Tasty, and Winning Combination When Gathering with Friends and Family.

Got leftovers?  See Food Storage for Safety and Quality to find out how to keep your food fresh, and when to throw it out.

While we humans certainly don’t consider poinsettias as food, your pet might.  While there has been some debate over whether the red holiday flowers are poisonous, the Extension still recommends that poinsettias be placed out of reach of dogs and cats.  See their Poinsettias fact sheet for more.

 Finally, the following publications offer useful tips on specific food hazards and how to avoid them:

• Bacterial Foodborne Illness
• Botulism
• Guide to Washing Fresh Produce
• Preventing E-coli 

 The State Publications Library wishes you a safe and happy Holiday Season!