ORONO – “Foodborne illness can be an uninvited guest during the holidays,” said food science specialist Beth Calder of University of Maine Cooperative Extension. Calder advises the following food safety practices to ensure a safe holiday season:

Wash your hands often with soap and water, for at least 20 seconds. Prevent cross-contamination of foods, and keep cooked and raw foods separate. Wash and sanitize cutting boards and food contact surfaces. Keep your cold foods cold (refrigerated foods below 40 degrees and frozen foods below 0 degrees), and cook foods at the proper cooking temperatures, using a meat thermometer. Avoid holding foods between 40 and 140 degrees F for a period longer than two hours.

If you have food safety questions while planning and preparing your holiday meal, call the USDA Meat and Poultry hot line at 888-MPHotline (888-674-6854), or visit the food safety “virtual representative” at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/foodsafetyeducation/askkaren/index.asp#Question.

Fresh or Frozen Turkey?

The USDA defines fresh turkey as “whole poultry and cuts that have never been below 26 degrees F.” Fresh birds are usually of better quality; however, if the birds were properly frozen, they will maintain good quality for at least a couple of years.

If you are buying a fresh bird, you should buy your turkey one or two days before cooking to ensure that fresh quality. Frozen turkeys should be purchased early enough to allow time for safe thawing before cooking.

Don’t buy a prestuffed turkey unless it displays the USDA or state mark of inspection on the packaging. If you buy a frozen, USDA-approved, prestuffed turkey, do not thaw before cooking, and follow the package directions.

Thawing Turkey Safely

You can safely thaw a frozen (not prestuffed) turkey in one of three ways: in the refrigerator, in cold water or the microwave oven.

Refrigerator: The time required for thawing a turkey in the refrigerator depends on the weight of the turkey. For example, a 12-pound turkey will take up to two days to be completely thawed, a 16-pound turkey will take three days, and a 20-pound turkey will take four days. A good guideline is 24 hours for approximately every five pounds of frozen turkey. Make sure that your refrigerator is at 40 degrees F or below. Keep the turkey in its original wrapper and place a drip pan in your refrigerator in case of thaw drip and to prevent cross-contamination. A completely thawed turkey can be refrigerated for one to two days, but then must be immediately cooked or refrozen.

Cold water: Place the turkey in a waterproof bag. Check the original packaging material for cuts to ensure that no water will get through if you are using this as your thawing bag. Allow six hours for a 12-pound turkey, nine hours for a 16-pound turkey, and 12 hours for a 20-pound turkey. Change the water every 30 minutes. Cook the turkey immediately after it is completely thawed and do not refreeze.

Microwave: Check your owner’s manual to determine the size of a turkey that will fit in your microwave oven and the recommendations for the power level and minutes per pound to thaw frozen turkey. Remove the outside wrapper and place turkey in a microwave-safe dish. Once the turkey is thawed, cook it immediately and do not refreeze.

A turkey should never be thawed on the counter at room temperature. This is because thawing takes place from the outside in. At room temperatures, bacteria on the surface of the turkey may grow at potentially harmful levels before the inner turkey will have time to completely thaw.