'Avoid the unwanted gift of food poisoning this Christmas'

The Food Standards Agency has issued what appears to be its season advice on food safety over the festive period.

This includes the following tips:  

1. When Christmas food shopping, take enough bags with you so that you can separate out raw and ready-to-eat foods to avoid cross-contamination. 
2. Check the guidance on your turkey to ensure you have enough time to fully defrost it – it could take as many as 4 days. 
3. Don’t wash raw turkey - it just spreads germs further by splashing them onto your hands, clothes, utensils and worktops. 
4. To work out the cooking time for your bird, read the instructions on the packaging. Check that: the meat is steaming hot throughout, there is no pink meat visible when you cut into the thickest part and meat juices run clear. 
5. Whether you cooked your turkey from frozen or fresh, your turkey leftovers can be used to make a new meal (such as a turkey curry). This new meal can then be frozen, but make sure you only reheat it once.

Source: 'Avoid the unwanted gift of food poisoning this Christmas'