It’s about family, friends, gifts and good things to eat, but the holidays bring some unique risks with them. Visits to doctors and emergency rooms increase around this time of year – let’s see why.
Food poisoning. Think about how much more food we cook over this time! Whatever doesn’t get finished at one sitting may stand there for hours so that people can go back for more at leisure – then we wrap it and send it home with guests, or put it into the fridge. Prevent any unpleasant food poisoning by using these simple rules:
- Put raw meat at the bottom of the fridge so the juices can’t drip down and contaminate cooked food.
- Don’t overfill your fridge.
- If cooking turkey, or any poultry, allow it to defrost properly so that salmonella and campylobacter bugs don’t survive the cooking process.
Make sure that it’s cooked through before serving.
- Make sure leftovers have cooled before putting them back in the fridge.
No-one likes to waste food, but use up leftovers quickly – cooked turkey or chicken should be eaten within 2 days of being cooked.
Household accidents. Tripping over trailing cables, fires from lights or candles, toddlers swallowing small things and kitchen disasters are just some of the things that can go wrong!
- Supervise the children! There are so many people around that it’s easy to assume someone’s watching, but don’t – keep an eye on the kids.
- Take care in the kitchen. With so many hands, it’s easy to get splashed with hot oil or to cut yourself.
- If everyone is enjoying beers around the braai, or champagne and port at the table, keep an eye on people around the pool, and don’t let anyone drive drunk!
- Trees and decorations burn easily, so don’t attach them to heaters or light. Also, don’t overload electrical sockets, or leave candles burning unattended.
Take it easy, take it slow – it’s supposed to be the holidays. If you’ve got a full house, assign tasks to family members so you aren’t the only one taking care of everyone. Have a good Christmas!