Avoiding Turkey Trouble

Tomorrow, many families will be sitting down to a nice turkey dinner.

Just in time for Thanksgiving, a food-safety watchdog group is unveiling a list to help you buy and prepare a safer turkey.

Preparation for the perfect Thanksgiving dinner table takes a lot of preparation, starting before the turkey even reaches the supermarket.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest now has a Good Bird Guide that ranks the nation's turkey processing plants based on reports of salmonella contamination. Click here for the chart.

The plant number is listed on a color-coded chart. The same number can also be found near the USDA seal on the turkey package at the store.

Plants in the green section of the chart had the least salmonella contamination. Plants in red had the most salmonella contamination.

"I think the ones in the green zone are probably doing almost everything they can to keep their turkeys safe, but the practices they're using can be used by the rest of the industry," said Caroline Smith Dewaal of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).

The turkey industry said that the data used to create the chart is old and that more recent findings show producers are doing all they can to reduce salmonella.

"There's a 50 percent reduction in the amount of salmonella that the industry has found through a Texas A&M study, and that if they cook thoroughly they're going to have a great product for Thanksgiving," said Sherrie Rosenblatt of the National Turkey Federation.

Food safety advocates agree that properly cooking a turkey will eliminate salmonella, no matter how much of the bacteria may be present at the plant where it was processed. But, they say, buying a bird produced at a plant with the least contamination will reduce the amount of salmonella coming into your kitchen.

Turkeys should be cooked until they reach 180 degrees. If there is stuffing inside, it should reach 165 degrees.

The CSPI recommends using thermometers to ensure the turkeys are thoroughly cooked, even on those with pop-ups because those devices don't always work.

She said it is important to defrost frozen turkeys in the refrigerator, and keep the bird self-contained so it doesn't become contaminated.

Counter tops, utensils, and anything that comes into contact with a raw or partially cooked turkey should be scrubbed thoroughly in warm, soapy water. And sponges used to clean up raw turkey should be disinfected in the dishwasher or in boiling water, according to the CSPI.

When the Thanksgiving feast-o-plenty is done, keep yourself and your family safe from sickness by storing and heating your leftovers properly.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest released a helpful formula to make sure your leftovers are safe to eat. The CSPI recommends that to stop bacterial growth you follow the 2-2-4 formula:

Two Hours: While the turkey in your system may make you want to hit the couch, resist the urge to snooze and get your leftovers in the fridge or freezer within two hours of cooking.

Bacteria multiply fastest at warm temperatures in the range between 40 degrees and 140 degrees, according to CSPI.

If food has been left out more than two hours, throw it away.

Two inches: No, this doesn't refer to your expanding waistline.

The CSPI says that you should divide your turkey into smaller pieces and store turkey separately from the other feast fixings.

All leftovers should be kept in shallow containers about two inches deep.

Shallow containers allow food to cool more evenly and quickly in the refrigerator or freezer, according to the CSPI.

Four days: Eat refrigerated leftovers within four days. Stuffing and gravy should be eaten in two days. Frozen foods will last longer.

If reheating leftovers, the CSPI says to make sure to heat them to 165 degrees and boil soups, sauces and gravies.

"Following the two hours-two inches-four days formula for all leftovers could help prevent about 400,000 food-related illnesses each year," CSPI food safety director Caroline Smith DeWaal said in a statement.

Each year, an estimated 1.3 million Americans get sick, 15,000 are hospitalized, and 500 die from salmonella, according to the group.

Get more information from the CSPI at their website: Center for Science in the Public Interest.

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