Whether you are preparing your first turkey dinner or your favourite Christmas dish there are a few simple steps you can take to ensure your holiday meals are healthy and happy.“There’s nothing worse than having a joyous celebration ruined by a gastro-intestinal illness that hits soon after your festive feast,” said Kevin Touchet, manager of food safety at Interior Heath.

“It happens every year, sadly, but is something every chef, new or old, can prevent.”Interior Health recommends cooks follow these simple food safety tips for holiday entertaining:Store/thaw safely: Keep fresh turkey refrigerated no longer than three days before cooking.

Thaw frozen turkey in its wrapper in one of three ways: in the microwave; under cold running water (one hour per pound); or in the fridge (five hours per pound).Thawing poultry at room temperature will allow harmful bacteria to grow and is not recommended.Be sure to keep other items, especially those with dairy, mayonnaise or other moist, protein-rich foods chilled until served.

Clean carefully: Wash your hands, utensils and work surfaces well before prep work begins. Once the preparation work is done, clean surfaces in hot soapy water, rinse, then sanitize.Sanitizing can be done with a diluted bleach solution (30 ml of bleach per gallon of water) that is allowed to sit for two minutes.

Wash your hands well after cleaning the cutting board and before and after working with any new menu items.Avoid cross contamination: Store meat away from ready-to-eat food, including fruit and vegetables, which must be washed thoroughly before preparation.

Turkeys should be wrapped well and stored on the lowest shelf of your fridge or in the meat keeper to keep blood and juices from contaminating other food. Use a separate cutting board to prepare raw meat whenever possible.

Cook well: For turkey, set the oven at no lower than 350 °F (177 °C) and cook for about 20 minutes per pound. Use a good meat thermometer to measure the turkey’s internal temperature and ensure it’s safe to eat - 165 °F (74°C) or 185 °F (85 °C) for a stuffed bird.

Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the breast or thigh. Cooked food should be kept at 140 °F (60 °C) while waiting to serve.Refrigerate: Chill food immediately after returning from the store and soon after dinner is complete.

Perishable food should be left unrefrigerated for no longer than two hours after it is pulled from the oven. Refrigerate at 40°F (4 °C) or in a freezer at 0° F (-18 °C). Health Canada recommends 2 – 3 days for refrigerated leftovers and to freeze them in order to keep them longer.