Celebrating the holidays with family and loved ones is one of the best times of year to enjoy great company and even better food!  Entertaining creates different challenges in the kitchen than normal meal preparation. The quantity of food and how it is served requires special attention to ensure food safety.

Some safety tips are even more important when entertaining because of the quantity of food prepared.  One of the golden rules is to keep ‘hot foods hot’ and ‘cold foods cold’:

• Do not let foods linger during preparation – cook them thoroughly and serve them quickly.  Consider cooking foods in smaller batches, and replenish serving dishes when quantities getting low.  
• Keep hot foods hot with warming trays or crock pots. 
• Antipasto plates with vegetables, dips, cheeses, and deli meats are a favourite. Keep the platter fresh by replacing containers of dips and other foods, not replenishing them.  Also keep the platter on ice to keep cold.
• Do not leave food out for more than two hours.
• Use leftovers within four days for best quality or freeze immediately for later use. Reheat solid leftovers to at least 74°C or 165°F until “steaming” hot.
• When frozen food such as meat is thawed, cook immediately after thawing. Allow sufficient time for food to defrost properly.  If not completely thawed, the food will take longer to cook.

Meat should be cooked to a minimum of 74°C or 165°F. You cannot determine whether meat is done by simply looking at the colour of the meat or juices, so use a food thermometer (see our cooking temperature guide).

 For more food safety tips or to test your knowledge in Maple Leaf’s food safety quiz.

 From our family to yours, wishing you a safe and wonderful holiday season.