Consumers’ most often asked questions about food safety are
about turkey,
say officials at the

U.S. Department of
Agriculture Food
Safety and Inspection Service.

“Most people probably don’t cook turkey very often, and they
want to
make sure they do it

correctly,” said Judy Harrison, an extension
food safety specialist with the University
of Georgia.

Safe turkey dinners, she said, start in the store.

“Always check the labels carefully before you buy a turkey,”
Harrison
said.

Although federal regulations don’t require product dating,
many stores
and processors may

voluntarily date packages of turkey.

Usually date labels will be “sell by,” “best if used by,”
or “use by.”
They tell the store how long

to display the product and the shopper how long its peak
quality lasts.

But product dates aren’t guides for the safe use of turkey.
You must
follow safe handling

guidelines, too.

“Make sure you don’t keep the turkey in the car too long
after you buy
it or it could warm up to

a temperature that will allow bacteria to grow,” Harrison
said. “Make
the grocery store the last stop

before you go home.”

Once you are home, put the turkey in the refrigerator at 40
degrees
Fahrenheit, or freeze it at zero degrees Fahrenheit immediately.

“You can generally keep fresh turkey in the refrigerator for
one to
two days safely,” Harrison said.

“Cooked turkey is usually safe for three to four days.”

For best quality, cook and use frozen turkey within nine to
12 months.

Turkey is known to have carried some food-borne illness-
causing organisms,
including

Salmonella, Campylobacter,
Staphylococcus and
Listeria monocytogenes.

Salmonella, one of the most common food-borne pathogens
associated with
poultry, may be found

in the intestinal tracts of livestock, poultry and many
other warm-blooded
animals, and inside fresh

eggs.

“People become infected with Salmonella when they ingest the
live bacteria,”
Harrison said. “The

bacteria then reproduce in the small intestines and can
cause nausea,
diarrhea,  abdominal pains and

fever.”

Thorough cooking destroys Salmonella bacteria.

Food-borne illness is often introduced to your meal when you
defrost
the turkey.

“Either defrost the turkey in the refrigerator, in cold water
or in
the microwave,” Harrison said.

“Never defrost a turkey on the counter top.”

When defrosting a turkey in the refrigerator, plan ahead for
slow, safe
thawing. Allow about one

day for every five pounds of turkey.

If you defrost it in cold water, make sure it’s in an
airtight package
or leak-proof bag. Submerge

the bird or cut-up parts in cold water, changing the water
every 30
minutes to be sure it stays cold.

Only microwave-thaw a turkey if you plan to cook it right
away. Some
parts of the meat may get

warm enough to allow bacteria to grow quickly.

If your holiday plans don’t include cooking, and you plan to
have your
dinner cooked elsewhere,

use these precautions:

• 
   If dinner is picked up or delivered hot, the food must be
  kept at
  140 degrees Fahrenheit or above and eaten within two hours. It’s
  not a
  good idea to try to keep foods hot longer than two hours.



• 
    If holding the foods longer than two hours, remove all
  stuffing
  from the turkey cavity, divide the turkey into smaller pieces
  and refrigerate
  everything in separate, shallow containers. Reheat it thoroughly
  to an
  internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, using a meat
  thermometer
  to check.



• 
    If the dinner is prepared, but refrigerated when you pick
  it up,
  keep it cold. Refrigerate immediately when you get home (always
  within
  two hours). Serve the meal within two days.



• 
    Reheating a whole turkey is not recommended.

If you have more questions about how to safely prepare your
holiday meal,
call the county

extension office or the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-
800-535-4555.
If you’re on-line, check the USDA Food
Safety and Inspection Service Home Page.