Tips for having a safe & healthy Thanksgiving

WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) - As people across the country prepare for Thanksgiving, it’s important to make sure that food is properly prepared.

Foodborne illnesses affect millions of people every year during the holiday season.

“After two hours of sitting out, things do need to go back into the refrigerator, and that can be a little tricky if you’re hosting or have a large gathering of people. So making sure that those things get put away is a great way to make sure that all of our loved ones stay safe this holiday season,” said SnapED Nutrition Educator Taylor Rollins.

Making sure that your Thanksgiving dinner is cooked properly is a crucial part of having a safe holiday, and in more ways than one. The American Red Cross says that Thanksgiving is the number one day of the year for cooking fires.

“A lot of calls we go on are usually fire alarm activation, smoke detector activations, everyone’s using their ovens, possibly hasn’t been cleaned in a while. But we don’t know that until we get there,” said Watertown Fire Captain William Bragger.

To avoid risks, make sure that turkeys are completely thawed before cooking no matter how you plan on cooking them.

And Bragger says that if you do plan on using a deep fryer, it’s important to follow the manufacturer’s guidelines.

“We’ve had instances where someone has tried to deep fry a turkey inside a garage. That’s definitely not a good idea. People have tried to deep fry turkeys as they’re still frozen, which is not a good idea. You should always follow the manufacturer’s recommendations,” he said.

Bragger says that there’s never any real way to tell just what a holiday will bring, the same as any other day.

That’s why firefighters have to stay prepared and you should too.

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