Thanksgiving Food Safety
Most experts suggest you cook your stuffing outside of the bird in a casserole dish. Dressing placed inside the turkey is not recommended because it takes longer to cook and you risk overcooking the turkey meat in order to get the stuffing to reach a safe temperature to eat. If you must stuff the bird, follow this advice: bake your turkey at 325 degrees Fahrenheit or higher and use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of the stuffing. The stuffing must reach a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees F to be safe to eat. Many food safety specialists believe undercooked stuffing poses a high risk of getting you sick. If the turkey is undercooked, bacterial pathogens like Salmonella may be present in the cavity of the bird and can contaminate the stuffing. Salmonella can survive in undercooked stuffing and infect those who eat it.
Holiday Food Safety Success Kit National Turkey Federation Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Estimates of Foodborne Illness in the United States” United States Department of Agriculture, "Let’s Talk Turkey" United States Department of Agriculture, "Cleanliness Helps Prevent Foodborne Illness" Illinois Department of Public Health, "Food Safety Fact Sheet - Critical Temperatures for Food Service" Partnership for Food Safety Education, "Thanksgiving Food Safety" Center for Food Safety, "Thanksgiving traditions for a changing climate" Partnership for Food Safety Education, "Least Wanted Foodborne Pathogens" Phys.org, "Stuffing the turkey and other Thanksgiving food-safety mistakes" Home Food Safety, "Most Common Foodborne Pathogens" Image Courtesy of David Bullock | Dreamstime Image Courtesy of Stephanie Frey | Dreamstime Image Courtesy of Donald Joski | Dreamstime Image Courtesy of Szabolcs Szekeres | Dreamstime Image Courtesy of Brent Reeves | Dreamstime Image Courtesy of Ruben Gutierrez | Dreamstime Image Courtesy of Marcin Pawinski | Dreamstime Image Courtesy of Kelpfish | Dreamstime