meat and poultry hotline

Here’s an important Thanksgiving food safety tip that will surprise many: USDA doesn’t recommend stuffing a whole turkey. The practice increases the risk of cross-contamination and takes the turkey longer to cook. Cook stuffing separately instead.

The busiest time of the year for USDA’s Meat and Poultry Hotline is the week before Thanksgiving. Calls, chats and emails are answered by food safety specialists who even work on Thanksgiving Day to ensure your meal is safe.

It’s finally November. To beat the crowds, you rush to your grocery store to buy a turkey. If this is your first time, you’re faced with a dilemma: frozen or fresh?

You have a food thermometer and are ready to use it – that’s fantastic! But do you know where to place it in your foods? Correctly placing the food thermometer within food is important to get the most accurate temperature reading. Without proper placement, it’s possible that parts of your food could still be undercooked and, if contaminated, could make you sick.

Quit food safety confusion cold turkey this Thanksgiving! While this holiday is a great time to spend with family and friends, it’s also time to bust some myths.

Long days, hot temperatures and family gatherings will soon return to America’s backyards. Also returning are traditions, like roasting a whole pig. Roasting a pig requires a lot of planning before, during and after the meal to ensure food safety. Over the past few years, there have been foodborne illness outbreaks associated with pig roasts in several states.