How not to food poison your family

The pressure of hosting Thanksgiving can be a lot to handle – prepare the home, cook the meal, set the table, pour the drinks and entertain.

But one of the most important responsibilities is to make sure guests don’t become sick by uncooked, ill-prepared or spoiled food.

So here are some turkey tips from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to make sure guests leave happy and healthy.

Don't wash the turkey

Washing raw meat and poultry can cause bacteria to spread up to 3 feet away. The FDA’s Food Safety Survey that 68 percent of people wash turkeys before cooking them. Cooking kills any bacteria that may be present, so washing meat and poultry is not necessary.

Don’t leave the turkey out

There are three safe ways to defrost a turkey: in the refrigerator, in cold water and in the microwave oven. The refrigerator method is the safest. It takes about 24 hours for every 5 pounds of weight for a turkey to thaw in a refrigerator.

Use a meat thermometer

Turkeys should be 165 degrees in three places: the innermost part of the thigh, the innermost part of the wing and the thickest part of the breast.

Don't store food outside, even if it’s cold

Storing food outside is not food safe for two reasons: animals can get into food stored outside and the outdoor temperature varies. A plastic food storage container in the sun can heat up and climb above 40 degrees. Instead, keep extra Thanksgiving food at a safe temperature, below 40 degrees, in a cooler with ice.

Leftovers are good up to four days

Leftovers will last for four days in the refrigerator, so if you know you won’t use them right away, freeze them and use within four months. And put away the turkey as soon as possible, preferably within two hours of coming out of the oven.

This story was originally published November 22, 2016 at 7:39 AM with the headline "How not to food poison your family."