Enjoy Food Safely Over the Holidays

Whether turkey or other traditional treats are on the menu, Nova Scotians are urged to follow some important tips to safely enjoy food over the holidays.

Some principles of food handling are to keep work surfaces and utensils clean, separate foods to avoid cross-contamination, cook foods to proper temperatures, and chill food promptly to avoid bacteria growth.

"Through the holiday season and always, we encourage Nova Scotians to keep food safety in mind and to follow proper food-handling practices," said Agriculture Minister John MacDonell. "Being mindful of how we handle, cook, store and transport food will help prevent food-borne illness from harming our loved ones."

The Department of Agriculture has several food safety fact sheets online, which include how to:

• prepare and serve buffets
• travel with food
• prepare and store holiday foods
• order and serve take-out foods such as meat trays
• save and re-serve leftovers
• buy, thaw and cook a turkey and store leftovers.

The fact sheets are available at www.gov.ns.ca/agri/foodsafety/factsht/ .

The Department of Agriculture food safety staff provide consumer education and facility inspections throughout the year to help protect the health of Nova Scotians.