Foodborne-illness risk during the holidays can be cut down with simple precautions

When friends and family gather for holiday celebrations, food is usually at the center of it all, and where there is food, there's the potential for food poisoning.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that each year one in six people gets sick from a foodborne illness, and children and the elderly are more susceptible to the pathogens that cause it.

Using proper food handling practices goes a long way toward preventing diseases such as Campylobacter, salmonella, shigella, E. coli, listeria, botulism and norovirus.

Serving trays are often left out after a big holiday meal, because people tend to want to go back and nibble. Leaving foods out for too long can give bacteria the opportunity to grow.

Food containing protein or mayonnaise and dairy products should not be left out for more than two hours.

After that, it enters what experts call "the danger zone," where conditions are ripe for bacterial growth that produces toxins, which cause food poisoning.

"Bacteria loves protein," said Raina Childers, nutrition services coordinator for SoutheastHEALTH--HealthPoint Fitness Centers.

Bacteria can begin to grow when food reaches a temperature between 40 and 140 degrees.

When food is between those temperatures, that's when bacterial growth occurs," said Debra Schumer, clinical nutrition manager at Saint Francis Medical Center.

Take into account when planning the menu the amount of food that can be kept hot or cold, she advised.

"It needs to be refrigerated, reheated or tossed within that two hours," Schumer said.

She recommends using smaller portions on serving plates and rotating them out periodically as the celebration continues.

Food should be reheated to at least 165 degrees, the safe internal temperature for cooking most meats.

The best way to make sure food is at a safe temperature is to use a thermometer.

But food can become contaminated long before it reaches the table.

For years, people defrosted their turkeys by leaving them out on a counter. That is dangerous, and even leaving the food in a car too long after shopping can provide the right atmosphere for bacterial growth, Schumer warned.

The safest way to thaw meat is to put it in the refrigerator.

A 15-pound turkey will take three to four days to defrost in the refrigerator.

Another method used in the past was to defrost the bird in a sink full of water. While the turkey does thaw faster, after the water temperature rises, the meat is potentially soaking in a bacteria bath.

"If you use cold water, keep it running," Schumer said. The circulation of the running water will keep the temperature low enough to avoid harboring bacteria-produced pathogens.

It is fine to use the microwave to thaw meat, she said, but it needs to be cooked immediately after it is thawed.

To avoid serving up sickness, take care in preparation, particularly when working with raw meat. If raw meat touches anything, whether it is hands, countertops, dishtowels or sponges, they need to be washed thoroughly before coming into contact with anything else.

Aprons are a common source of cross contamination, because cooks frequently wipe their hands on them, Childers said.

Eating raw eggs and drinking unpasteurized apple juice also can be a source of food poisoning, so even though there are recipes for egg nog that call for raw eggs, instead, opt for a recipe that requires cooking them.

Food also can be contaminated by being touched by someone other than the cook.

"You don't want Uncle George to contaminate the stuffing because he has come in to take a taste," she said.

Symptoms of food poisoning include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and bloody stools, sometimes accompanied by fever.

Many people get food poisoning and don't even know they have it, said Dr. Sandra Zackroff, who practices family medicine at Jackson Family Care.

In most cases, there's no need to see a doctor and usually people with food poisoning won't require hospitalization, she said.

Zackroff said she usually doesn't prescribe medicine for treatment.

"We don't use Imodium or Pepto or anything like that, but we would administer IV fluids," she said.

Dehydration is the greatest concern with food poisoning, so it's important to drink clear fluid, like ginger ale.

"Just a cup an hour is enough, so you're really just sipping," she said. "People make the mistake of drinking too much at once and then they can't keep it down."

A sign of dehydration in babies is crying without producing tears, she said.

For more information about safe preparation and storage of food, visit the U.S. Health and Human Services Department's foodsafety.gov.