Consumer Reports: Holiday meal prep safety

Thanksgiving will soon be here, and many of us will spend hours preparing a turkey dinner. One thing you don’t want to bring to the holiday table is food poisoning. Consumer Reports reveals the one thing many of us get wrong that could make our guests seriously sick.

Rinsing off the bird–It’s what many of us do with our Thanksgiving turkeys before they hit the oven. But here’s a spoiler alert: According to Consumer Reports and the United States Department of Agriculture, rinsing won’t make your poultry any safer. In fact, you may be doing more harm than good. Rinsing raw poultry won’t remove salmonella or other harmful bacteria that can cause illness; only cooking it to an internal temperature of 165-degrees can do that. What rinsing will do is increase the chances of cross-contamination in your kitchen. That’s because bacteria can easily spread to the sink, faucet, countertop, and other areas.

So, how should you prep your turkey? – First, wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and warm water.

If you want to remove that raw turkey slime, pat the bird with a damp paper towel, discard it, and immediately wash your hands again. Then, add your seasonings and put the bird in the oven. And another warning: Be careful of those spice containers. Research has shown that they can be covered in bacteria, which can easily spread to your hands and the food you’re preparing.

Consumer Reports recommends pouring seasonings into a separate dish beforehand and discarding what you don’t use to play it safe. You might also want to wipe down the containers after use.

Remember to wash your hands before and after you check that online recipe. Research has found that your phone may be teeming with bacteria that can travel to everything you touch, including food.

Be mindful of your sponges, too—they're hotbeds of bacteria! Sanitize them in the dishwasher or microwave wet ones for one minute. If they start to smell, that’s your cue to throw them away.