HOLLAND, Mich. — With Thanksgiving just a week away, Holland Hospital is offering safety advice to help families celebrate the holiday without emergency room visits.
Dr. Ada Pariser, a family physician at Holland Hospital's primary care office in Hudsonville, emphasized the importance of proper food safety, especially when preparing turkey and other meats.
"Color can't completely tell us if you've reached the appropriate temperature, so get a food-safe thermometer on hand, and we want you to make sure that your turkey reaches 165 degrees," Pariser said.
Cross-contamination is another major concern during holiday meal preparation.
"When it comes to the turkey in particular, or other meat dishes you're preparing, try to keep meat and your other produce and other food items separated. If you're handling raw meat, we want you to wash your hands immediately after handling that raw meat before handling any other food items," Pariser said.
For safe carving, Pariser recommends using sharp knives rather than dull ones, which can slip and cause injuries.
"If you're using a cutting board, try to have some kind of non-slip grip under the cutting board," Pariser said. "We want you to curl your fingers into a claw so that we don't have fingertips exposed to that really sharp blade and then big tip yield to falling knives."
Kitchen burns are common during holiday cooking. If they occur, immediate action is crucial.
"If you get a burn in the kitchen, we want you to immediately go run the burn under cool water at least five minutes, up to 20 minutes," Pariser said. "And then, if your burn is larger than the size of your palm, if it's on your hands, face, areas that have smaller surface area, kind of delicate tissue, we want you to seek emergency medical attention."
Food safety doesn't end when the meal is served. Leftovers need proper handling to prevent foodborne illness.
"Once you've reached that two-hour point, that food should be back in the fridge," Pariser said.
For those planning to enjoy alcoholic beverages with their holiday meal, moderation is key.
"Try to keep that moderation word in mind, maybe drinking water between alcoholic beverages and making sure that you're eating as well, staying hydrated and well fed during that time," Pariser said.
Hope College junior Marci Santos, who will be traveling home to Chicago for Thanksgiving, appreciates both the safety advice and the family traditions that make the holiday special.
"Thanksgiving is a very fun time at my house; my mom enjoys decorating for holidays," Santos said. "I'm really excited, we make tamales and posole at home."
Santos described her father's meticulous approach to cooking the turkey.
"The turkey is more of my dad, and he's very precise about it, and he's checking the times and the temperatures," Santos said. "He made brisket a couple years [ago], and he is like a military operation with that brisket."
For Santos, the holiday represents more than just food and safety precautions.
"Being here in Holland, it's the concept of me going home that I've really started to enjoy and appreciate more as I'm becoming an adult," Santos said. "We're learning more about how we've become different over time, but coming back together to really spend that time and build upon the bonds and the relationships that we already have."
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