Thanksgiving food tips from USDA: When it comes to the bird, safety’s the word

Today’s guest blog on turkey safety is by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.

USDA Thanksgiving Food Safety Infographic

Whether you’re a Thanksgiving cooking pro or newbie, preparing one of the largest meals of the year can be stressful. To avoid making mistakes that could cause foodborne illness, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service wants you to be aware of these common Thanksgiving myths:

• Myth: You should wash your raw turkey
  Food safety experts — including us at USDA — don’t recommend washing raw meat and poultry before cooking. Many bacteria are quite loosely attached, and when you rinse these foods the bacteria will be spread around your kitchen. In fact, research shows that washing meat or poultry in water spreads bacteria throughout the kitchen — onto countertops, other food, towels and you. Water can splash bacteria up to three feet surrounding your sink, which can lead to illnesses.
  
  Researchers at Drexel University have shown that it’s best to move meat and poultry straight from package to pan, as the heat required for cooking will kill any bacteria that may be present.
  
• Myth: You can’t cook a frozen turkey
  If your turkey is still icy on Thanksgiving morning, don’t panic! It’s perfectly safe to cook a turkey from the frozen state. It’ll just take longer to cook. A solidly frozen turkey will take at least 50 percent longer to cook than a thawed turkey. If you cannot separate the giblet package from the turkey at the start, just remember to remove it carefully with tongs or a fork a few hours into the cooking process.
  
• Myth: The bird is done when juices run clear
  Do you check if your Thanksgiving turkey is done by poking the turkey to see if the juices run clear? Do you also keep repeating this process until everyone is hungry and you are left with a dry turkey?
  
  The only way to determine if a turkey is safely cooked and ready to serve is to take the temperature of the turkey with a food thermometer in three locations: the innermost part of the thigh, the innermost part of the wing and the thickest part of the breast. The thermometer should read 165°F.
  
  The juices rarely run clear at this temperature, and when they do the bird is often overcooked. Using the food thermometer is the best way to ensure your turkey is cooked to a safe internal temperature, but not overcooked. 

If you have any Thanksgiving myths you want to check out, call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline — 1-888-674-6854 — where you can talk to a food safety specialist in English or Spanish between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. EST, or chat live at AskKaren.gov. The Meat and Poultry Hotline will even be open on Thanksgiving Day from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. EST to take last-minute calls.

Download and share USDA’s turkey safety infographic in English or Spanish.

H7N9 influenza: What you should know now

Dr. Michael Jhung,
medical officer for the influenza division,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

A new flu virus has recently emerged in China, putting health officials around the world, including those at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on alert. Today’s guest blog post by Dr. Michael Jhung, medical officer for the influenza division, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, provides a status report of flu activity as of April 18, 2013, and tells you what you need to know about this novel virus that to date has led to 87 confirmed illnesses and 17 deaths.

Not long after a newsworthy 2012-2013 influenza season, flu is in the headlines again. On April 1, the World Health Organization first reported three human infections with a new influenza A (H7N9) virus in China. Since then, additional cases have been reported. Most of the people reportedly infected have had severe respiratory illness and, in some cases, have died.

Fortunately, there are currently no reported cases of H7N9 in the U.S. or anywhere outside of China. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we are following this situation closely, coordinating with domestic and international partners, taking routine preparedness steps and sharing frequent updates.

Here are some things you should know about the current H7N9 situation:

1. It is still early in the response and there is a tremendous amount that we don’t know. Our information is likely to be updated and change frequently as we learn more about H7N9. To stay informed, please visit our H7N9 page.
2. There are no confirmed cases of human infection in the U.S., and there is currently no evidence that the virus can spread in a sustained way from person-to-person. Other than advice for travelers or people who are ill, CDC is not making any additional or special recommendations for U.S. public action specific to H7N9. Travelers should continue to visit CDC’s Travelers' Health page on H7N9 for CDC’s current travel recommendations.
3. After the first human infections with H7N9 were detected in China, Chinese authorities detected H7N9 viruses in poultry in the same area where human infections have occurred. China is investigating cases, their exposures and their contacts closely. Many of the humans infected with H7N9 are reported to have had contact with poultry. The current working assumption is that most human infections with H7N9 have resulted from exposure to infected birds or contaminated environments. The extent of the outbreak in poultry is still being assessed, but China has reportedly begun removing birds from live markets. Shanghai is currently taking extra precautions by closing down its live poultry markets for the time being.
4. On Thursday, April 11, CDC received the first H7N9 virus isolate from China. Since this H7N9 virus is new and has pandemic potential, we are using the virus isolate from China to develop a candidate vaccine virus that could be used to make a vaccine if one is needed.
5. CDC also is using the virus isolate from China to:
• Develop a test kit for detecting H7N9 infections in humans.
• Test for the presence of antibodies against the H7N9 virus in human blood samples. This will allow CDC to see if some people already have immunity against this virus.
• Test to see whether existing antiviral drugs —i.e., Tamiflu and Relenza — will work to treat people who become ill from H7N9.
6. The investigation in China has not revealed any sustained — or ongoing — human-to-human spread of this virus, but non-sustained human-to-human spread of bird flu viruses has occurred in the past, most notably with H5N1. It’s likely that some limited human-to-human spread of H7N9 will occur. Sustained, community transmission is needed for a pandemic to start.

Visit cdc.gov for more information on human-to-human transmission. 


About the author:
Michael Jhung, MD, MPH, MS, is a medical officer for the Surveillance and Outbreak Response Team in the Influenza Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Jhung received his Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from University of Michigan in 1989 and his Master of Science in Bioengineering from the University’s College of Engineering in 1994. He completed his doctorate of medicine from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in 2002, and his Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from University of Michigan’s School of Public Health in 2004.

Dr. Jhung began working with CDC’s Division for Healthcare Quality Promotion in 2005 as an Epidemic Intelligence Officer, where he conducted surveillance for healthcare-associated adverse events and rapidly responded to requests for assistance with investigation of health-care associated infections. Dr. Jhung graduated from the EIS program and joined Influenza Division’s Surveillance and Outbreak Response Team in 2009, where he has applied his expertise to responding to influenza outbreaks, providing scientific training of Fellows and staff, and contributing key findings to CDC’s pandemic preparedness plans.