Hosting family and friends for Christmas meals can be stressful enough – but imagine if your guests ended up with food poisoning? That would be a festive gathering to remember for all the wrong reasons. Here, we reveal the common cooking mistakes that could poison you, and share our top tips for preparing food for a Christmas get-together without the risk of making everyone ill.
Click or scroll through our gallery to discover some of the most harmful mistakes people make when cooking at Christmas – and find out how to avoid food poisoning over the festive period.
When you head out to stock up for the festive period, leave the frozen aisle until last. If you choose your frozen turkey or fill your trolley with frozen party snacks at the start of your shop, all of that food could start to thaw – and bacteria that causes food poisoning could start to spread – before you’ve even finished your shop.
When you’re rushing around the supermarket trying to remember everything from the cranberry sauce to the Christmas crackers, it’s easy to just chuck everything into your trolley or basket wherever there's space. But do take a moment to separate your fresh meat and vegetables, as close contact can lead to cross-contamination.
It’s tempting to ignore broken packaging when there's only one item left in the chiller cabinet, but a ripped packet leaves food vulnerable to contamination and therefore raises your risk of food poisoning. Even if it means adjusting your festive menu, it's better to choose something different instead.
Trying to get your festive food shop done nice and early is all very well, but use-by dates are there for a reason – and eating out-of-date food raises your risk of contracting food poisoning. However, if a label says ‘best before’, it’s more of a guide to show when that item may be past its best, so you can use your judgement on whether it’s safe to eat.
A fridge heaving with food might seem like good news with a busy few days of hosting (and eating) ahead. But an overfilled fridge means there’s not enough air to circulate – so the temperature rises, increasing the risk of bacteria growing. Bacteria grows most quickly between 8-60℃ (46-140℉), and your fridge temperature should be set around 3-5℃ (37-40℉).
It may sound obvious, but it's easy to cut corners when you're rushing around with several pots, pans and parties on the go. However busy you are, though, washing your hands thoroughly with soap and water is a step you should never skimp on. It's most important before and after handling raw meat and vegetables, to reduce the risk of spreading bacteria. Keep any hand towels and dish cloths away from food, as well, to avoid cross-contamination.
Make sure you properly read the storage instructions on the packaging of your bird. Most will include use-by dates and detailed advice, so be sure you know exactly what you should be doing. A fresh turkey, or a raw one that's been defrosted, should be placed on a plate, covered and kept in the fridge (making sure it isn't touching, nor positioned above, other foods) for no more than two days.
A frozen turkey needs to be thoroughly defrosted before cooking. If frozen areas of the bird remain, the meat won’t cook evenly, raising the risk of harmful bacteria surviving the cooking process. Work out how long your turkey will take to thaw well in advance – large ones can take a couple of days to defrost fully.
In a fridge is best, with the bird covered in a dish to prevent the spread of bacteria. Remove any giblets as soon as possible to speed up the process and allow roughly 10 hours per 2.2lb (1kg). If it’s not possible to fit the turkey in the fridge, it can be thawed in a cool room, reducing that time to four hours per 2.2lb (1kg).
It’s really not necessary to wash your turkey – bacteria will be killed during the cooking process and won't be removed by water. What’s more, rinsing a turkey under a running tap can cause splashes of bacteria-packed water to spread over work surfaces and your clothes.
Cooking your stuffing separately ensures both it and the turkey cook properly. If you put stuffing into the cavity of a turkey, it makes the bird become a solid mass, making it harder for heat to travel all the way through. If you really want to stuff the turkey, make sure you fill the neck area just before popping it in the oven, and be aware that stuffed turkeys take longer to cook.
Make sure you work out how long your turkey needs to cook well in advance. Eating undercooked poultry carries a big risk of food poisoning. A large bird will need several hours to cook thoroughly, so get it in the oven early enough. As a guide, for an unstuffed turkey under 10lb (4.5kg), allow 45 minutes per 2.2lb (1 kg) plus 20 minutes.
It’s just as important to use the correct cooking times for chicken, duck and goose. Preheat the oven to 200℃ (400℉) and cook goose for 35 minutes per 2.2lb (1kg) and duck for 45 minutes per 2.2lb (1kg), adding on around 20 minutes extra in both cases. Chicken should be cooked at 180℃ (350℉) for 45 minutes per 2.2lb (1kg), plus 20 minutes.
Even following the timing guidelines, it’s important to check your bird is cooked through to reduce the risk of food poisoning. The easiest way to do this is to pierce the thickest part of the meat – if the juices run clear with no hint of pink or blood, the bird is cooked. Alternatively, you can check the temperature – the thickest part should be a minimum of 75℃ (170℉).
You can store cooked turkey in the fridge until you're ready to reheat and eat – but make sure it’s cooled first and that it goes into the fridge within two hours of coming out of the oven. Putting it in the fridge still warm encourages bacterial growth, as does leaving it out for too long. If needed, you can carve the turkey into smaller pieces to make it cool quicker. Meat will keep for two days, and if you want to keep it for longer, it needs to be frozen.
It’s extremely important to make sure you wash vegetables thoroughly to avoid an outbreak of food poisoning. Vegetables may have come into contact with manure or pesticides and still have soil and dirt on them that can harbour bacteria – so washing is essential. Make sure you also dispose of any unwashed peelings, to avoid contamination.
Serving melon and prosciutto? Make sure you prepare your melon properly. Fruits grown on the ground, like cantaloupe, watermelon and honeydew melon, have a high food poisoning risk because listeria bacteria can grow on the rough rind and spread to the flesh. Wash your melons thoroughly and, to be extra safe, remove the flesh from the rind.
Fish and shellfish are one of the most common sources of food poisoning, so take extra care if you’re planning a classic prawn cocktail starter or including fish such as smoked salmon on your Boxing Day buffet. Seafood must be kept chilled, so make sure it’s one of the last things you pick up when shopping – and never leave it out on the kitchen side.
If you’re making a Christmas pudding or whipping up a batch of eggnog, make sure that the eggs you use are stamped with the British Lion mark, which means they have been vaccinated against salmonella. These will also have a best-before date stamped on the shell, so you know that they are fresh.
By the time you get around to serving dessert, you may well be ready to sit back and relax. But, if there’s ice cream on the table to go with your Christmas pudding, make sure you put it back in the freezer before it starts to melt. If it’s left out for too long, harmful listeria bacteria can develop.
Once you’ve laid out the Christmas meal, ready for people to help themselves, make sure the leftovers aren’t left out on the table for too long. Ideally, everything should be cooled and stored in the fridge or freezer within two hours. If they’re left out, there’s an increased risk of bacteria reproducing.
Much like leaving leftovers out for too long, beware a buffet that has been sat out all day. Particularly risky foods include meat, fish, rice and eggs. It’s best to top-up or refresh your buffet every couple of hours, rather than leave food out all afternoon.
Along with poultry, vegetables, eggs and shellfish, deli meats are among the most common sources of food poisoning, and often found on a Boxing Day buffet. They can become contaminated with bacteria both during processing and in the deli if staff don't exercise proper hygiene measures. Pre-packaged meats have a lower risk. Whatever you choose, make sure yours are stored correctly and not left out for more than two hours.
If you’re reheating leftover turkey to make sandwiches, a pie or a curry, for example, make sure it’s heated until steaming hot all the way through (and that frozen meat has thawed thoroughly beforehand). Never reheat meat twice, and throw any unused reheated turkey away.
If you have pets, it's also important to be aware of the risks of feeding them certain festive foods (or leaving temptation within their reach). Many Christmas dishes contain ingredients that can cause vomiting and seizures and, in some cases, they can even be fatal to pets. Poultry bones, turkey skin, onions, certain nuts and dried fruits, chocolate, alcohol and yeasted doughs are among the common culprits – and all heavily consumed at this time of year. Play it safe and stick to their usual diets.