{"id":6523,"date":"2017-12-22T06:00:44","date_gmt":"2017-12-22T11:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/candostreet.com\/blog-parents\/?p=6523"},"modified":"2017-12-09T12:56:12","modified_gmt":"2017-12-09T17:56:12","slug":"the-holiday-buffet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/candostreetny.com\/blog-parents\/the-holiday-buffet\/","title":{"rendered":"The Holiday Buffet"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><span style=\"color: #003366;\"><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/candostreet.com\/blog-parents\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/sallyparty.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-6551 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/candostreet.com\/blog-parents\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/sallyparty-300x198.jpg\" alt=\"holiday \" width=\"300\" height=\"198\" srcset=\"https:\/\/candostreetny.com\/blog-parents\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/sallyparty-300x198.jpg 300w, https:\/\/candostreetny.com\/blog-parents\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/sallyparty.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Holiday buffets are a popular way to entertain, but these kinds of food service, where foods are left out for long periods of time, can be a health hazard.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"color: #003366;\">Here are some tips from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Meat and Poultry Hotline to help you have a safe holiday party.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #003366;\"><strong>Safe Food Handling<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #003366;\"> Always serve food on <a id=\"1\" style=\"color: #003366;\" name=\"1\"><\/a>clean plates \u2014 not those previously holding raw meat and poultry. Otherwise, bacteria which may have been present in raw meat juices can cross contaminate the food to be served.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"1a\" name=\"1a\"><\/a><strong><span style=\"color: #003366;\">Cook Thoroughly<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #003366;\"> <em><strong>If you are cooking holiday foods ahead of time for your party, be sure to cook foods thoroughly to safe minimum internal temperatures.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #003366;\">Cook all raw beef, pork, lamb and veal steaks, chops, and roasts to a minimum internal temperature of 145 \u00b0F as measured with a food thermometer before removing meat from the heat source. For safety and quality, allow meat to rest for at least three minutes before carving or consuming. For reasons of personal preference, consumers may choose to cook meat to higher temperatures.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #003366;\">Cook all raw ground beef, pork, lamb, and veal to an internal temperature of 160 \u00b0F as measured with a food thermometer.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #003366;\">Cook all poultry to a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 \u00b0F as measured with a food thermometer.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #003366;\"><a id=\"2\" style=\"color: #003366;\" name=\"2\"><\/a><strong>Use Shallow Containers<\/strong> <strong>to Store Holiday Foods<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #003366;\"> Divide holiday cooked foods into shallow containers to store in the refrigerator or freezer until serving. This encourages rapid, even cooling. Reheat hot foods to 165 \u00b0F. Arrange and serve food on several small platters rather than on one large platter. Keep the rest of the food hot in the oven (set at 200-250 \u00b0F) or cold in the refrigerator until serving time. This way foods will be held at a safe temperature for a longer period of time. REPLACE empty platters rather than adding fresh food to a dish that already had food in it. Many people&#8217;s hands may have been taking food from the dish, which has also been sitting out at room temperature.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><a id=\"3\" name=\"3\"><\/a><span style=\"color: #003366;\"><strong>The Two-Hour Rule<\/strong> <strong>for Holiday Buffets<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #003366;\"> <em><strong>Holiday foods should not sit at room temperature for more than two hours. Keep track of how long foods have been sitting on the buffet table and discard anything there two hours or more.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><a id=\"4\" name=\"4\"><\/a><span style=\"color: #003366;\"><strong>Keep Hot Foods HOT And Cold Foods COLD<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #003366;\"> Hot foods should be held at 140 \u00b0F or warmer. On the buffet table you can keep hot foods hot with chafing dishes, slow cookers, and warming trays. Cold foods should be held at 40 \u00b0F or colder. Keep foods cold by nesting dishes in bowls of ice. Otherwise, use small serving trays and replace them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #003366;\"><a id=\"5\" style=\"color: #003366;\" name=\"5\"><\/a><strong>Foodborne Bacteria<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #003366;\"> Bacteria are everywhere but a few types especially like to crash parties. <em>Staphylococcus aureus<\/em>, <em>Clostridium perfringens<\/em> and <em>Listeria monocytogenes<\/em> frequent people&#8217;s hands and steam tables. And unlike microorganisms that cause food to spoil, harmful or pathogenic bacteria cannot be smelled or tasted. Prevention is safe food handling.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #003366;\">If illness occurs, however, contact a health professional and describe the symptoms.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #003366;\"><a id=\"6\" style=\"color: #003366;\" name=\"6\"><\/a><strong><em>Staphylococcus aureus<\/em><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #003366;\"> <em>Staphylococcus<\/em> (&#8220;staph&#8221;) bacteria are found on our skin, in infected cuts and pimples, and in our noses and throats. They are spread by improper food handling. Prevention includes washing hands and utensils before preparing and handling foods and not letting prepared foods \u2014 particularly cooked and cured meats and cheese and meat salads \u2014 sit at room temperature more than two hours. Thorough cooking destroys &#8220;staph&#8221; bacteria but staphylococcal enterotoxin is resistant to heat, refrigeration and freezing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #003366;\"><a id=\"7\" style=\"color: #003366;\" name=\"7\"><\/a><strong><em>Clostridium perfringens<\/em><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #003366;\"> &#8220;<em>Perfringens<\/em>&#8221; is called the &#8220;cafeteria germ&#8221; because it may be found in foods served in quantity and left for long periods of time on inadequately maintained steam tables or at room temperature. Prevention is to divide large portions of cooked foods such as beef, turkey, gravy, dressing, stews and casseroles into smaller portions for serving and cooling. Keep cooked foods hot or cold, not lukewarm.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #003366;\"><a id=\"8\" style=\"color: #003366;\" name=\"8\"><\/a><strong><em>Listeria monocytogenes<\/em><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #003366;\"> Because <em>Listeria<\/em> bacteria multiply, although slowly, at refrigeration temperatures, these bacteria can be found in cold foods typically served on buffets. To avoid serving foods containing <em>Listeria<\/em>, follow &#8220;keep refrigerated&#8221; label directions and carefully observe &#8220;sell by&#8221; and &#8220;use by&#8221; dates on processed products, and thoroughly reheat frozen or refrigerated processed meat and poultry products before consumption.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Keep your holiday safe by practicing food safety guidelines.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-socializer wpsr-buttons\"><span class=\"wpsr-btn wpsr-srvc-facebook\"><div class=\"fb-share-button\" data-href=\"\" data-layout=\"button\"><\/div><\/span><span class=\"wpsr-btn wpsr-srvc-twitter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" class=\"twitter-share-button\" data-show-count=\"false\" data-related=\"\" data-url=\"\" data-size=\"small\" data-via=\"\" data-hashtags=\"\">Tweet<\/a><\/span><span class=\"wpsr-btn wpsr-srvc-google_plus\"><div class=\"g-plusone\" data-size=\"medium\" data-annotation=\"none\" ><\/div><\/span><span class=\"wpsr-btn wpsr-srvc-linkedin\"><script type=\"IN\/Share\" data-url=\"\" data-counter=\"none\"><\/script><\/span><span class=\"wpsr-btn wpsr-srvc-pocket\"><a data-pocket-label=\"pocket\" data-pocket-count=\"none\" class=\"pocket-btn\" data-save-url=\"\" data-lang=\"en\">Pocket<\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">!function(d,i){if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(\"script\");j.id=i;j.src=\"https:\/\/widgets.getpocket.com\/v1\/j\/btn.js?v=1\";var w=d.getElementById(i);d.body.appendChild(j);}}(document,\"pocket-btn-js\");<\/script><\/span><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Holiday buffets are a popular way to entertain, but these kinds of food service, where foods are left out for long periods of time, can be a health hazard.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-socializer wpsr-buttons\"><span class=\"wpsr-btn wpsr-srvc-facebook\"><div class=\"fb-share-button\" data-href=\"\" data-layout=\"button\"><\/div><\/span><span class=\"wpsr-btn wpsr-srvc-twitter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" class=\"twitter-share-button\" data-show-count=\"false\" data-related=\"\" data-url=\"\" data-size=\"small\" data-via=\"\" data-hashtags=\"\">Tweet<\/a><\/span><span class=\"wpsr-btn wpsr-srvc-google_plus\"><div class=\"g-plusone\" data-size=\"medium\" data-annotation=\"none\" ><\/div><\/span><span class=\"wpsr-btn wpsr-srvc-linkedin\"><script type=\"IN\/Share\" data-url=\"\" data-counter=\"none\"><\/script><\/span><span class=\"wpsr-btn wpsr-srvc-pocket\"><a data-pocket-label=\"pocket\" data-pocket-count=\"none\" class=\"pocket-btn\" data-save-url=\"\" data-lang=\"en\">Pocket<\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">!function(d,i){if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(\"script\");j.id=i;j.src=\"https:\/\/widgets.getpocket.com\/v1\/j\/btn.js?v=1\";var w=d.getElementById(i);d.body.appendChild(j);}}(document,\"pocket-btn-js\");<\/script><\/span><\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1141],"tags":[1182,1906,424,2283,1180,1885,1893,286,1181,1891,1905],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/candostreetny.com\/blog-parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6523"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/candostreetny.com\/blog-parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/candostreetny.com\/blog-parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/candostreetny.com\/blog-parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/candostreetny.com\/blog-parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6523"}],"version-history":[{"count":40,"href":"https:\/\/candostreetny.com\/blog-parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6523\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11279,"href":"https:\/\/candostreetny.com\/blog-parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6523\/revisions\/11279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/candostreetny.com\/blog-parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/candostreetny.com\/blog-parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/candostreetny.com\/blog-parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}