Food Safety at Holiday Buffets and Parties

Hilary Shallo Thesmar, Ph.D., R.D.

Holiday gatherings are a wonderful way to catch up with friends and family and to enjoy some festive food. However, food safety is a major issue to consider whether preparing or eating at a holiday gathering. Preparing food for a large group of people is very different than cooking for a family. Here are a few tips to keep your holiday parties safe from uninvited guests.

• When preparing food in large quantities, allow extra cooking time and use a food thermometer to make sure all parts of the food reach a proper temperature.
  
  
• Prepare food in shallow dishes to allow food to heat quickly when cooking and cool quickly when storing in the refrigerator. Deep dishes slow cooking and cooling times which allows more time for bacteria to grow. 
  
  
• Wash hands, utensils, countertops and all food contact surfaces thoroughly. Cooking will kill most bacteria; however, some bacteria can produce toxins which are not killed by heating. The key is to prevent the bacteria from getting into the food and to keep the food out of the danger zone for bacterial growth which is 40°F to 140°F. (Cooking temperatures for foods will often be higher than 140°F.)
  
  
• If you think a food has been out of the refrigerator or oven too long, it is safer to discard it than to serve it to guests. Food should be at room temperature for no more than two hours—less if it is a temperature sensitive food. 
  
  
• Think of food safety when planning your menu or when making your food selections if you are a guest. Make sure you have the oven space to heat items properly. Watch the turnover of hot and cold items on the buffet table. Discard foods and clean serving platters before adding more food that has been properly handled and cooked or cooled. 

With proper food handling and temperature control, you can make sure that your guests will have a healthy and happy holiday season.

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