News: Learn To Be Food Safe During Easter And Passover Meals

Released on: 03-26-2007

Many Americans will soon celebrate the spring religious holidays of Easter and Passover by sharing traditional meals with family and friends. USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service is offering consumers important advice on how to safely prepare and handle some of these popular dishes to avoid foodborne illness.

"During the holidays, when we are hosting family, we tend to prepare larger, more complex meals than what we are accustomed to cooking and that increases the potential for foodborne illness," said USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr. Richard A. Raymond. "That is why it is so important to remember and follow good preparation and cooking habits in the kitchen."

To prevent foodborne illness during springtime celebrations, Raymond encouraged consumers to learn the four key messages of USDA's Be Food Safe campaign - Clean, Separate, Cook and Chill.

• Clean - Wash hands and surfaces often.
• Separate - Don't cross-contaminate. Keep raw meat and poultry apart from cooked foods.
• Cook - Use a food thermometer to be sure meat and poultry are safely cooked. All poultry should be cooked to a safe minimum internal temperature of 165°F. Ground beef should be cooked to 160°F and steaks to at least 145°F. Also remember to keep hot foods hot. If hot food has been sitting out at room temperature for more than two hours, do not eat it.
• Chill - Refrigerate or freeze leftovers promptly. Keep cold foods cold. If cold food has been sitting out at room temperature for more than two hours, do not eat it.

Popular Egg Dishes for Passover and Easter

Whether you are preparing foods for Passover, Easter or any other occasion – make sure that you always wash your hands with warm water and soap before and after handling eggs. To avoid cross-contamination, wash forks, knives, spoons, countertops and other surfaces that touch the eggs with hot water and soap.

Eggs are a popular dish for the traditional Seder plate during Passover celebrations. However, if eggs sit out at room temperature for more than two hours, they should not be eaten. Since the hard-cooked eggs that are usually served to each person as part of the special dinner are meant to be eaten, keep those hard-cooked eggs in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Easter traditions also call for using eggs. If you plan to eat the Easter eggs you decorate, then be sure to use only food grade dye. One suggestion is to make two sets of eggs – one for decorating and hiding, another for eating. Consider using plastic eggs for hiding.

Popular Meat Dishes for Passover and Easter

Beef brisket is a popular Passover dish. As is the case with any meat product, it is critical to use a food thermometer to determine if the food is safely cooked. Foodborne bacteria are destroyed when food reaches a certain temperature through the cooking process. In the case of brisket, be sure the meat reaches a safe minimum internal temperature of 145°F. Although bacteria will be destroyed at this temperature, some consumers may prefer to cook their meat longer based on personal preference.

Ham is a popular meat for the Easter table. Consumers need to be aware that there are several types of ham and required preparations differ depending on the type. Ham is either ready-to-eat or requires cooking before eating. Ready-to-eat hams are cooked at the plant and can be safely eaten right out of the package.

Fresh, uncooked hams must reach a safe minimum internal temperature of 160°F. Spiral-cut or fully cooked, unsliced hams are examples of ready-to-eat products that can be served cold or can be reheated.

Lamb is another popular Easter dish. For safety, the USDA recommends cooking a leg of lamb and other cuts to a safe minimum internal temperature of 145°F.

To help ensure that celebrations this spring are as safe as possible, USDA is offering numerous food safety resources for consumers.

• Ask Karen - Consumers can obtain food safety information 24 hours a day though the FSIS virtual representative, "Ask Karen," at AskKaren.gov.
• Be Food Safe campaign - Provides consumers and food safety educators with various types of resources to help promote USDA's four food safety messages of clean, separate, cook and chill. Visit the campaign at BeFoodSafe.gov.
• Spring Food Safety Fact Sheets - Learn about eggs, ham, lamb and more by visiting the FSIS Web site at www.fsis.usda.gov.
• Meat and Poultry Hotline - The Hotline is staffed Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Eastern Time, year-round. Contact the Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline or 1-888-674-6854. E-mail inquiries may be directed to MPHotline.fsis@usda.gov.

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