- It is essential that home chefs are mindful of proper food handling and safety cooking tips to keep their families and friends healthy during celebrations this holiday season.

- It’s always imperative that you start off with a clean and prepped kitchen space.
- You should thoroughly cleanse countertops and preparation areas with an anti-bacterial cleaning agent to get rid of any germs that may be present.
- It’s also important to make sure your refrigerator is set at the ideal temperature of 40° F and your freezer is at 0° F to guarantee that foods needing to be chilled are keep cold or frozen until their use.

- In addition, be sure your fridge has space available to accommodate newly purchased food. Get rid of any old leftovers and expired goods.

- The holidays are the perfect time of year to prepare homemade favorites like cake, and other treats like pie and cheesecake. However, when creating recipes that call for uncooked or lightly-cooked eggs, it’s important to cook the dishes properly and thoroughly to kill any bacteria that may be lurking such as Salmonella Enteritidis.

- From a traditional turkey to a turducken, it’s safest to allow meat to defrost in the refrigerator versus on a countertop or in the kitchen sink.

- When it’s time to cook meat and poultry dishes, be sure you have separate preparation stations for raw and cooked food. Otherwise, bacteria that may have been present in the raw meat juices can contaminate the food being served.

- It’s key to use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of meat, poultry, casseroles and other foods. Always check the temperature in several places to be certain food has reached its ideal temperature and is safe to eat.

- Pork, veal and lamb dishes should be cooked until they reach 160° F to ensure they’re safe and delicious while all poultry recipes should be cooked to 165° F.

- Within 2 hours of preparing foods like a green bean casserole or candied yams, dishes should be refrigerated or put in the freezer. If a dish has been left out for longer than 2 hours, it should be discarded to avoid the risk of contamination. If the room temperature is above 90º F, dishes should be put in the fridge after an hour.

- If you have plans to transport prepared food to an office party or a relative’s house, the same rules apply. You should use a cooler or chill bag to keep food at a safe temperature while en route if you’re traveling a long distance.

- Generally speaking, refrigerated leftovers should be consumed within 3-4 days.

- To learn more about holiday food safety, visit www.kroger.com.