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Things to keep in mind to stay illness free this holiday season

Don’t let your food spoil your fun

When everyone gathers for the holiday season it is a festive time, but a foodborne illness can quickly spoil the fun. So, what can you do to try your best and make sure everyone stays healthy? Dr. Lea Monday, Infectious Disease Doctor at The Detroit Medical Center, appeared on “Live In The D” to share steps you can take.

Dr. Monday focused on three different categories starting with washing. Obviously, everyone knows to wash their hands before and after ever step of food preparation, but it goes beyond that. “Washing our tools. Washing our knives, our peelers, everything we’re using. Our working surface on the counter. The cutting board,” said Dr. Monday. It all needs to be decontaminated as you continue to cook and move from one thing to the next.

Also, be sure to wash your produce. Dr. Monday said, “In the last several years, some of the worst outbreaks of E.coli or salmonella have occurred in things like spinach.”

Second, you need to be mindful of food temperature. Germs can grow rapidly between 40°F and 140°F. “I really just recommend people just buy an affordable meat thermometer,” said Dr. Monday. She says it’s really important in homes with only one oven because the constant opening and closing of an oven impacts how long meat is cooked.

She also suggests using hotplates and warming pots to keep your hot food hot, or ice to keep food cold. She says remember the 2 hours rule and if it has been sitting at room temperature for 2 hours, put it in the refrigerator.

Third, Dr. Monday spoke about certain foods to avoid. Raw and undercooked meat are big culprits of making people sick. You also need to avoid unpasteurized dairy products. Also, if you are baking at all, say no to raw dough because bacteria can lurk in flour or raw eggs.

To learn more about who is most likely to get food poisoning, click the video player above.

To find a DMC doctor that’s right for you, click here.