It’s the holiday season, and that means FOOD! Whether you’re hosting a big group or bringing your famous side dish to a gathering, you want to make sure your food is both delicious and safe.
While anyone can get a foodborne illness, and symptoms like diarrhea and vomiting are never pleasant, foodborne illnesses are most dangerous for children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems.
Top tips for keeping food safe
Five simple safety precautions can help keep you and your family and friends safe from foodborne illness at home.
1. Wash your hands.
Use warm water and soap to get rid of germs that can get into food. Wash up:
- Before handling food or touching utensils used to make food (e.g. knives).
- After going to the bathroom; taking out the trash; sneezing; coughing; smoking; or working with raw meat, fish or poultry.
2. Avoid cross-contaminating food.
Cross-contamination happens when germs from raw or unclean foods get into foods that won’t be fully cooked before eating. Key tips:
- Put raw meat, fish, and poultry on the bottom shelf in the fridge.
- Wash and sanitize cutting boards and utensils whenever you’re done cutting raw meat, fish, and poultry. Melons can carry germs on their rinds, so any knives, dishes or boards used for melons needs sanitizing, too (we’re looking at you, holiday fruit bowl!).
- Use a hard cutting board/ surface that doesn’t have splits or holes.
3. Don’t leave certain types of food at room temperature – that’s the danger zone!
Some types of food – like meat, poultry, cooked starches, sliced melons, sprouts, fresh herb and garlic-in-oil mixtures, dairy products, cut leafy greens, cut tomatoes, and cooked produce – can grow bacteria quickly and easily at room temperature (between 41 and 135° F). Your job is to get these foods through the danger zone as quickly as possible by cooking, cooling, or reheating. Key tips:
- If food has been at room temp for up to 2 hours, it’s time to either refrigerate or reheat it (See tips 4 and 5 for more detail).
- After food has been sitting more than 2 hours at room temperature, throw it out.
4. Cool food properly when you’re ready to put it in the fridge.
Not cooling food the right way is a major cause of foodborne illness. How to cool food safely:
- Large pieces of meat/ poultry should be cut into pieces 4 inches or less and then placed directly into the refrigerator.
- Place hot foods in shallow pans no more than 2 inches deep and then directly into the refrigerator.
- Allow food to cool uncovered overnight or until it’s cooled to 41° F or below. Once the food has cooled all the way, it’s a good idea to cover it.
5. Heat (and reheat) foods to the right temperature.
Make sure you have a meat thermometer! Key tips:
- Cook these foods to at least these temps:
- Ground beef: 158° F
- Poultry: 165° F
- Fish, shellfish, lamb, beef, pork: 145° F
- Hot foods should be kept at 135° F or above.
- Reheat your leftovers to at least 165° F (temp should hold at least 15 seconds).
Get more tips on our webpage: Food safety in your home kitchen.
Originally posted on November 24, 2025.