Warnings Over Home Cooking This Christmas

Three quarters of Scots think they will not fall ill from food they have prepared at home.

That is according to figures released by Food Standards Scotland.

Despite this they are warning Christmas time chefs across fife to be food safety conscious.

Shoppers and commuters across Scotland are being targeted with food safety advice over the next two weeks, with elves handing out campaign materials featuring useful tips.
 
Geoff Ogle, Chief Executive of Food Standards Scotland, said: "Christmas is a time for all the family to come together and enjoy themselves, and food plays an important part of that.
 
"Home cooks are usually preparing larger quantities of food - from party snacks to turkey roast dinners. When you’ve got a lot to do in the kitchen and in a hurry you can take your eye off the ball when it comes to hygiene, and when that happens there’s more scope for things to go wrong.

"Allow adequate time to defrost your turkey in the bottom of your fridge or somewhere cold: large turkeys can take a couple of days. If it’s not completely de-frosted it can mean inconsistent cooking through the bird and won’t get rid of bugs like campylobacter which can cause food poisoning.
 
"Also make sure it’s cooked through until the juices run clear, store leftovers in the fridge and eat them within two days unless they’ve been frozen, and re-heat them just once. And keep your fridge temperature at 0-5°C."