30 Important Kitchen Safety Tips for Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from Scherer Insurance! While most people associate Thanksgiving with reuniting with family and friends and enjoying delicious meals, insurance agents tend to focus on the insurance-related risks. Below are some helpful tips to keep your home as safe as possible on Thanksgiving.

24 Safety Tips to Prevent Fires in the Kitchen

Thanksgiving is the peak day of the year for home cooking fires with more than 3-4 times the daily average and the 2nd most likely day for a home cooking fire is the day before Thanksgiving! Most house fires start in the kitchen. Cooking is the leading cause of all winter home fires. Most cooking fires start when frying food. Unattended cooking is by far the leading contributing factor in cooking fires and fire deaths. Keep your kitchen safe this Thanksgiving with these tips:

  • Make sure to have working smoke alarms close to where anyone may be sleeping. Check the batteries before guests arrive.
  • Practice your home fire escape plan until everyone can make it out of the house in less than 2 minutes. That’s probably how long you’ll have to get out of a burning home before it’s too late.
  • Protect yourself from carbon monoxide. Often called the invisible killer, carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless and colorless gas created when fuels burn incompletely. Install CO alarms in a central location outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home and in other locations when required by applicable laws, codes or standards.
  • Leave turkey frying to the professionals. Don’t do it yourself. However, if you must fry your own turkey, follow all U.S. Fire Administration turkey fryer guidelines:
    • If you deep-fry a turkey, place the fryer outside on a flat surface that can’t burn, such as cement.
    • Place the fryer several feet from anything that can catch fire.
    • Determine the correct amount of oil needed by first placing the turkey in the pot with water.
    • Don’t let children or pets come anywhere near it. An adult should watch the fryer while it cooks.
    • Use a fryer with thermostat controls. Without these controls, the oil can heat to the point of catching fire. Check the temperature often with a cooking thermometer so the oil won’t overheat.
    • Thaw the turkey completely before cooking it so that ice crystals won’t splatter the hot oil.
    • Use long cooking gloves or oven mitts and potholders to protect hands and arms when handling the pot, lid, handles of a turkey fryer.
  • If you are sleepy or have consumed alcohol, don’t use the stove or stovetop.
  • Stay in the kitchen when you are cooking on the stove top so you can keep an eye on food. Unattended cooking is the leading factor in home cooking fires. If you leave the kitchen for even a short period of time, turn off the stove.
  • Stay in the home when cooking your turkey, and check on it frequently.
  • Make use of timers to keep track of cooking times, particularly for foods that require longer cook times.
  • Create a “kid-free zone”. Keep children away from the stove. The stove will be hot and kids should stay 3 feet away.
  • Make sure kids stay away from hot food and liquids. The steam or splash from vegetables, gravy or coffee could cause serious burns.
  • Keep knives out of the reach of children.
  • Be sure electric cords from an electric knife, coffee maker, plate warmer or mixer are not dangling off the counter within easy reach of a child.
  • Keep the floor clear so you don’t trip over kids, toys or bags.
  • Wear short sleeves or roll them up while cooking so they don’t catch on fire. Avoid hanging fabrics on clothing that can come in contact with a heat source.
  • Clean up greasy spills as you go to remove another fire hazard.
  • Move things that can burn 3 feet away from the cooking area. This includes oven mitts, wooden utensils, food wrappers, dishtowels, bags, boxes, paper and curtains.
  • Turn pot handles toward the back of the stove so no one can bump them or pull them over.

In case of a fire:

  • Always cook with a lid beside your pan. If you have a fire, slide the lid over the pan and turn off the burner. Do not remove the cover because the fire could start again. Let the pan cool for a long time.
  • In case of an oven fire, turn off the oven and keep the door closed until it’s cool.
  • The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recommends that if you have any doubt about fighting a small fire, just get out! When you leave, close the door behind you to help contain the fire. Call 9-1-1 or the local emergency number from outside the home.
  • Plan ahead for your escape. Draw a map of each level of the home showing all doors and windows. Practice the plan at least twice a year, day and night and with overnight guests.
  • Get low and go. In a real emergency, get low and go under the smoke quickly to your outside meeting place.
  • Know your emergency number. Make sure everyone in the home knows how to call 9-1-1 or the local emergency number from a cell phone outdoors at the safe meeting place or from a trusted neighbor’s phone.
  • Closing the door. A closed door may slow the spread of smoke, heat, and fire.

6 Safety Tips to Keep Your Turkey Free From Food Poisoning

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports show about 48 million people contract some form of food poisoning every year. Common symptoms include upset stomach, nausea, vomiting and cramps, and food poisoning can range from unpleasant (staph, clostridium perfringens) to potentially life-threatening (salmonella, botulism). Even “mild” food-borne illness can make your guests sick or send them to the emergency room over the holidays. Keep your loved ones safe from food poisoning on Thanksgiving with these tips:

  • Store turkey properly.
    • Frozen raw turkey should be stored in the freezer until you are ready to thaw it. Make sure your freezer is at 0°F or below. Don’t store a turkey in a place where you can’t closely monitor the temperature, such as in a car trunk, a basement, the back porch, or in snow.
    • Fresh raw turkey can be stored in the refrigerator 1 to 2 days before cooking.
  • Thaw turkey safely. Never thaw your turkey by leaving it out on the counter. A turkey must thaw at a safe temperature. When a turkey stays out at room temperature for more than 2 hours, its temperature becomes unsafe even if the center is still frozen. Germs can grow rapidly in the “danger zone” between 40°F and 140°F. Foodsafe.gov has a convenient table with weights and times.
    • If thawing turkey in the refrigerator
      • Keep your turkey in its original wrapping and place it in a container before putting it in the refrigerator. The container will prevent the turkey juice from dripping on the food.Allow about 24 hours of thawing for each 4 – 5 pounds of turkey.A turkey thawed in the refrigerator can remain in the refrigerator once it’s been thawed for 1 – 2 days before cooking.
    • If thawing turkey in cold water
      • Be sure your turkey is in a leakproof plastic bag before you place it in the sink.
        • The bag will prevent the turkey juice from spreading in the kitchen.
        • The bag also will prevent the turkey from absorbing water, which could make your cooked turkey runny.
      • Make sure to completely cover your turkey with cold tap water.
      • Change the water every 30 minutes.
      • Allow about 30 minutes of thawing for each pound of turkey.
      • A turkey thawed in cold water must be cooked immediately after thawing.
    • If thawing turkey in the microwave
      • Follow the microwave manufacturer’s instructions for thawing your turkey.
      • A turkey thawed in the microwave must be cooked immediately after thawing.
  • Handle turkey correctly to prevent the spread of germs.
    • Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling turkey.
    • Use one cutting board for raw turkey and a separate cutting board for produce, bread, and other foods that won’t be cooked.
    • Keep raw meat away from fresh produce. Never place cooked food or fresh produce on a plate, cutting board, or other surface that held raw turkey.
    • Wash cutting boards, utensils, dishes and countertops with hot soapy water after preparing raw turkey and before you prepare the next item.
    • Washing raw turkey can spread germs to other food. Federal agencies have recommended not washing turkey or chicken since 2005. But a 2020 survey found that 78% of participants reported washing or rinsing turkey before cooking. Old recipes and family cooking traditions may tempt you to keep this practice going, but it can make you and your family sick. Poultry juice can spread in the kitchen and contaminate other foods, utensils and countertops. If you wash raw turkey, immediately clean and thoroughly sanitize the sink and surrounding area. A USDA study found that 1 in 7 people who cleaned their sink after washing chicken still had germs in the sink.
  • Cook stuffing thoroughly.
    • It’s safest to cook stiffing in a casserole dish instead of inside your turkey. Cooking stuffing in a casserole dish makes it easy to be sure the stuffing is thoroughly cooked. If you do cook stuffing in the turkey, put the stuffing in the turkey just before cooking.
    • With either cooking method, use a food thermometer to make sure the stuffing’s center reaches 165°F. If you cooked the stuffing in your turkey, wait 20 minutes after taking the bird out of the oven before removing the stuffing. This allows the stuffing to cook a little longer.
  • Cook turkey to a safe temperature.
    • To roast a turkey in your oven, set the oven temperature to at least 325°F. Place the completely thawed turkey in a roasting pan that is 2 to 2-1/2 inches deep. Cooking times depend on the weight of the turkey and whether it is stuffed. Foodsafe.gov has a table for cooking.
    • Use a food thermometer to make sure your turkey has reached a safe internal temperature of 165°F.
    • Check by inserting a food thermometer into the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast.
    • Even if your turkey
    • If you stuffed your turkey, insert a food thermometer into the center of the stuffing to ensure it reaches 165°F. Remember to let the turkey stand 20 minutes before removing all stuffing and carving the meat. This will let the stuffing cook a little longer and make the turkey easier to carve.
    • If you are cooking your turkey using another method, such as smoking or frying it, or if you are roasting a turkey that is not fully thawed, follow these guidelines for cooking your bird safely.
  • Take care of leftovers.
    • Refrigerate leftovers at 40°F or colder within 2 hours of cooking to prevent food poisoning. Refrigerate leftovers that have been exposed to temperatures higher than 90°F, like in a hot car, within 1 hour.
    • If you are refrigerating a big cut of meat, such as a turkey or roast, cut it into smaller pieces so they cool quickly. You do not need to wait until food is cool to store it in the refrigerator or freezer.
    • Eat cooked turkey and dishes made with it, such as soup or a casserole, within 3 to 4 days. Freeze leftovers to store them for longer.
    • Reheat all leftovers to at least 165°F before serving or eating.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. However, if you have a disaster, homeowners and renters insurance can help protect you from financial ruin. Most standard homeowners or renters insurance policies offer coverage for personal liability and fire. Review your insurance policy with your agent to ensure you’re properly covered.

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