Millions of Americans are already in the kitchen this morning preparing Thanksgiving dinner. It's a big production that takes a lot of planning and timing to pull off gracefully. And if anything stands to mess things up, it's probably the turkey. From not being completely defrosted, to forgetting to remove the plastic pouch of giblets, mishandling the turkey can - not only delay dinner - it can also create health hazards. In this special holiday edition of KNAU's series Brain Food, Bonnie Stevens reports on the safest ways to serve Thanksgiving dinner to everyone at - and under - the table.
The kitchen at Little America Hotel in Flagstaff is especially busy today as the crew prepares to serve holiday dinner to about 1,200 people. Head chef Eduardo Mata says it's a big production. "We're prepping about 500 pounds of turkey...mashed potatoes, about 400 or 500 pounds. And if you can see the big kettle there, that's where we make our turkey gravy". Mata says making sure the sweet potatoes and green beans are done at the same time is important, but his main concern is contamination...salmonella.
Salmonella is a harmful bacteria that lives inside the intestinal tract of animals, like turkeys. And though it may be unsavory to think about on a day that has come to be associated with abundant feasting, it's something to consider carefully when making your holiday meal.
Paul Keim is an infectious disease specialist at Northern Arizona University. He says, "You can't wash a turkey long enough to get rid of all those bacteria, so don't even try. When you wash a turkey, you end up taking bacteria off and spreading them all over your kitchen. That's bad because then your lettuce and your sweet potatoes and everything else get turkey bacteria on them. So, don't do that! Just put it in the oven and cook it."
Cooking time varies depending on the size of the bird. But, food safety experts say whether you roast it or deep fry it, turkey meat should reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees before it's considered safe to eat. And if you like your stuffing roasted inside the bird, be careful. Experts say turkey juices containing bacteria like salmonella soak into the stuffing creating the potential for food poisoning. Tom Tibbs, a certified dietary manager at Flagstaff Medical Center says if you get it, you'll know it. "Usually the symptoms occur fairly soon after you're infected, 6 to 8 hours. It can be serious". Tibbs adds, "This time of year is definitely going to bring out a few more of those cases because, let's face it, it's a foodborne illness and we eat a lot of food this time of year".
So do our four legged family members if we give into their begging and feed them table scraps. Flagstaff veterinarian LeAnn Romans says many Thanksgiving foods are toxic to cats and dogs, and their stomachs aren't nearly as bullet proof as we might think. "The things that could be most dangerous are the stuffing," Romans says, "because it has so many things mixed in with it. It could be grapes or raisins in there. It could have onions and garlic. Gravy is definitely high on the list and that wonderful fatty skin that comes off of the turkey".
Romans says turkey bones are definitely off limits for dogs as they can cause intestinal tearing and blockage. "If it's really bad, they can get pancreatitis," she says. "It's very painful, a lot of GI upset and can require hospitalization".
Hopefully, you and your pets won't need medical treatment this holiday weekend, but many doctors - of all sorts - will be on call just in case. And if you have any questions, you can always call the Department of Agriculture's turkey safety hotline.
