Undercooked meat leads to illness
The biggest risk, experts say, comes from undercooking your meat. Color is certainly not an indicator of safety or whether your meat is done. You also need to watch out for cross-contamination, which can occur when countertops, sinks or utensils aren’t being cleaned properly between use of raw meats and other foods. Just as it’s important to cook to safe temperatures, it is also important to refrigerate foods quickly. This keeps the most harmful bacteria from growing and multiplying. Refrigerators should be set at 40 degrees and the freezer at 0 degrees and the accuracy of these settings should be checked occasionally with a thermometer.
If you do fall sick during the holidays, please make sure you receive prompt medical attention. Lack of immediate attention and treatment can turn a serious food poisoning case into a lethal one.
Remember that if you dine at an establishment during the holidays or at a catered event where you become sick, you may seek compensation from the negligent parties for medical bills, cost of hospitalization and treatment.