Safe Christmas Food

Give your fridge and freezer a good clean before you stock up for Christmas.  When buying food for Christmas don't overstock your fridge or freezer and store food separately in covered containers and properly wrapped.

Keeping work surfaces clean is very important.   Use separate chopping boards and utensils or wash them thoroughly to avoid cross-contamination between raw meat, and any cooked or ready-to-eat foods.  Wash your hands frequently especially before preparing or touching food, after touching raw food, coughing, sneezing or touching pets.

Frozen turkeys and other poultry must always be thawed thoroughly and fully before cooking.  Check our Christmas Turkey link on the right for a handy calculator.  When preparing your bird, there's no need to rinse it under the tap; any harmful bacteria already on the bird can be splashed around the kitchen.  Cooking will kill any bacteria present.  Ideally, cook your stuffing separately, but if you feel you must stuff the bird, make sure you take the stuffing weight into account when calculating your cooking time.

Poultry, sausages, chopped and minced meat must always be thoroughly cooked - check there are no pink bits in the middle, the juices run clear and they are piping hot throughout.  Don't use raw eggs in food that will not be cooked - such as chocolate mousse or homemade mayonnaise - use pasteurised eggs instead.

Always make sure food is served piping hot and as soon as it is ready.  If there's a delay between heating and eating then keep the food covered and at no less than 63°C.

If you have any leftovers don't leave them lying around, but make sure hot food cools quickly before putting it in the fridge.  You can do this by dividing it into smaller portions, placing in shallow containers or standing in a tray of cold water.  Avoid reheating food more than once - if you reheat leftovers make sure they're piping hot throughout and don't keep leftovers for more than 2 days.