COUNTY LIFE
Food handling safety tips for the holidays
Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Hanukah all fall within three days of each other this year. As friends and families gather together this season, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety Inspection Service has four food safety tips to ensure a healthy and safe holiday.
Even on Holidays, Always Follow the Four Steps to Food Safety
Clean hands before food preparation by following these simple steps: wet hands, lather with soap, scrub for at least 20 seconds, rinse with clean warm water and dry hands with a clean towel. Always serve food on clean plates and avoid reusing plates that previously held raw meat and poultry.
Separate raw and cooked foods to avoid cross contamination, which is transferring bacteria from raw food onto ready-to-eat food. For example, when preparing a roast and raw veggies for a dip platter, keep the raw meat from coming into contact with the vegetables, or food that does not require further cooking such as sliced, cooked meat and cheese.
Cook using a food thermometer to make sure food reaches a safe minimum internal temperature. Cook all raw beef, pork, lamb and veal steaks, chops, and roasts to a minimum internal temperature of 145 °F as measured with a food thermometer before removing meat from the heat source. For safety and quality reasons, allow meat to rest for at least three minutes before carving or consuming.
Cook all raw ground beef, pork, lamb, and veal to an internal temperature of 160 °F as measured with a food thermometer. Cook all poultry to a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F as measured with a food thermometer. When transporting hot, cooked food from one location to another, keep it hot by carrying it in an insulated container. For more information about food thermometers, visit FoodSafety.gov
Chill leftovers within two hours of cooking. Keep track of how long items have been sitting on the buffet table and discard anything out longer than two hours. Never leave perishable foods, such as meat, poultry, eggs and casseroles in the “Danger Zone” over two hours. The danger zone is between 40 and 140 °F where bacteria multiply rapidly. After two hours, enough bacteria may have grown to make partygoers sick. Exceptions to the danger zone include ready-to-eat items like cookies, crackers, bread and whole fruit.
Consumers can learn more about key food safety practices at Foodsafety.gov and follow @USDAFoodSafety on Twitter. Consumers with questions about food safety can call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) or chat live with a food safety specialist in English or Spanish at AskKaren.gov, available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday.
The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in Montague County is inviting livestock producers, landowners and wildlife managers to participate in an upcoming online educational meeting focused on the New World screwworm, a parasitic pest that can have serious impacts on livestock and wildlife health.
The virtual meeting will be at 9 a.m. on June 23, via Microsoft Teams. Organizers say the session is designed to provide timely information about the biology of the pest, prevention strategies and best management practices for producers in the region.
The New World screwworm is known for its destructive larvae, which infests open wounds of warm-blooded animals. Left untreated, infestations can cause severe tissue damage and even death. Although the pest had been eradicated from the United States in the past and has now entered into Texas. Continued awareness and preparedness remain important for early detection and rapid response efforts.
“This program is intended to help producers and land managers better understand the threat and what steps to take if cases are suspected,” said Justin Hansard, from the Extension Service.
The meeting will cover several key topics, including, how the New World screwworm spreads; general livestock management practices; wildlife monitoring and surveillance considerations, participants will also have the opportunity to learn practical strategies for maintaining herd health.
How to Join the Meeting
The session will be conducted entirely online using Microsoft Teams, and participants can join in one of two ways by joining the directed link (recommended) or by copying and pasting the following link into a web browser and follow the prompts:
https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/275071149431328?p=mOH2bhAqSVgo3AgtMK
Join using Meeting ID and Passcode:
- Meeting ID: 275 071 149 431 328
- Passcode: u84hq3qX
Participants may join from a computer, tablet or smartphone. No Microsoft Teams account is required; users can select the option to join through a web browser. Attendees are encouraged to log in a few minutes early to ensure their device audio and video are working properly.
More information and fact sheets, can be obtained at our Texas A&M Agrilife Extension website: https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/new-world-screwworm.
The program is hosted by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, which continues to provide research-based education and outreach to agricultural communities across Texas.
The Amon Carter Lake Water Supply Corporation will meet at 6 p.m. on June 23 at the office located at 607A Lindsey in Bowie.
Public comments and consent agenda open the meeting.
Discussions will include: Review of member notification of rate increase postcards and PUC letter regarding the increase; president’s report on employee unsigned contracts of employment; review of all expenses and update of scanners for meter reading, office systems and software.
An executive session is slated for a discussion of employees, followed by a return to open session for any action.
The Montague County Commissioner’s Court will meet at 9 a.m. on June 22.
The agenda includes: Montague County Historical Commission to receive a distinguished service award; discuss returning unused funds to the state from the county attorney, district attorney and sheriff’s office; open sealed bids for base rock and budget workshop.
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