NSF International Giveaway

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. It's important that you practice safe food handling and preparation when making holiday meals. It's easy to do too many tasks at once and not properly wash your hands or clean your work space, but it's essential that you take proper precauction. Whenever you're preparing anything, make sure public health and safety standards are followed.



NSF International is a nonprofit organization that is committed to protecting public health and safety by developing standards and certifying products against those standards.

To help better educate consumers and prevent incidences of holiday food poisoning, NSF International has put together a list of top food safety tips.

Tip #1 Shop Safely
When purchasing food for your holiday dinner, always shop for cold and ready-to-eat foods last right before checkout. Avoid foods where the packaging has been damaged. If ordering food for delivery, make sure someone is home to receive the food and that it is delivered cold.

Tip #2: Thaw Frozen Items Properly
Frozen foods should never be thawed at room temperature. Wrapped frozen items can be safely thawed in the refrigerator or under cold water. You can also use a microwave if you plan to finish cooking the food right away. Many frozen foods can be cooked from the frozen state, although additional cooking time will be needed.

Tip #3: Avoid Cross Contamination
Never use the same utensils or cutting boards for both raw and ready-to-eat foods unless they are thoroughly washed with hot soapy water between each use.

Tip #4: Wash Hands Often
The best thing we can do to not only limit cross contamination but to reduce the spread of illness is to wash our hands – frequently and often. Hands should be washed with warm water and soap for 20 seconds before and after handling any raw foods.

Tip #5: Disinfect Countertops & Sinks
In addition to washing utensils and other food preparation equipment between each use, counter-top surfaces and sinks need to be regularly washed and sanitized as well.

Tip #6: Keep Hot Foods Hot, Cold Foods Cold
Perishable foods need to be kept out of the danger zone – between 40 F and 140 F. Cold foods should be kept refrigerated until just before serving, and then placed on a bed of ice. Hot foods should be kept in the oven or on a warmer.

Tip #7: Remember the Two Hour Rule
Never let perishable foods sit out at room temperature for more than two hours (one hour if the temperature exceeds 90 F).

Tip #8: Store Leftovers Safely
Large quantities of leftovers should be placed in smaller containers in the refrigerator to facilitate cooling. Leftovers can be frozen. If refrigerated, they should be consumed within 3 – 4 days or discarded.

To help get you into the holiday cooking spirit, NSF wants to give one lucky winner a prize pack featuring:
(NSF Certified) Turkey Roasting Pan
(NSF Certified) Meat Thermometer
(NSF Certified) Tupperware
Matching Dishcloth and Kitchen Towel Set





GIVEAWAY RULES:
1. I will be picking ONE (1) winner for this contest. One winner will win an NSF prize pack.
YOU MUST DO THIS FIRST or all other entries will be DELETED!

2. Please tell me what holiday meal preparation safety tips you will follow through with this holiday season. (1 entry)

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Winner will be chosen on November 23, 2011 at 10 pm and then will be emailed.
One entry per day.
Alternate winner will be chosen if winner does not respond after 48 hours. Thank you and good luck!
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