Make it a safe Thanksgiving

​​Make it a safe Thanksgiving

If you’re serving up turkey dinners this Thanksgiving (or preparing them for take-out), remember some safety tips to prevent food handling problems or inadequate cooking, which often lead to poultry-related foodborne illness. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advise that you thaw your turkey in a refrigerator, in a sink of cold water changed every half hour, or in the microwave — and don’t leave it out at room temperature for more than two hours. If you stuff your turkey, add the stuffing just prior to cooking and make sure the center of the stuffing reaches 165˚F. Your turkey must also reach an internal temperature of 165˚F, so insert a food thermometer into the thickest parts of the breast, thigh and wing to make sure they have reached that threshold.