Benefits Of Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving break, a time for family fun and relaxation, unless you’re the chef du’jor of the meal. Fortunately for me I was only the assistant, mom still gets the full privileges of preparing the feast. I do though get consulted on all, or most of the food safety aspects that go with it. So you can imagine my trepidation when asked, “can I defrost the turkey in a cooler of brined ice water?” Do what! A cooler of brined ice water? Yes, that was the question of the moment, 24 hours pre-turkey day. It seems that after three full days in the refrigerator, the turkey had not defrosted, at all. Red flags, alarm bells, screams of fear, were what I heard in my head as I told my mother no don’t do it, it’s not safe. The ideal way to defrost is by
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placing the bird in a clean disinfected sink, and using cold running water. Then came those words that are so dreaded by food safety people everywhere: “but I did it before and nobody got sick.” To which I promptly replied in Schneider fashion, “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try, and try again.” Needless to say, mom did as she pleased. I did however supervise the sanitizing of the cooler with chlorine bleach and a fresh water rinse prior to depositing the turkey in his briny cold water bath.
While the above is an entertaining story, it is also true, and probably happens quite often on holidays such as Thanksgiving.
To the layman it may seem quick, easy and safe, unfortunately there are many hidden dangers in defrosting meat in this manner. The primary danger pertains to bacterial growth. All poultry are prone to carrying campylobacter, not to mention E.coli O157:H7, Listeria, and Salmonella, to name a few additional party goers. These microbes quickly multiply when placed in a medium such as water, this in combination with the amount of time it is left in its juicy bath creates the perfect environment for exponential growth. This can be offset though by cooking to the appropriate internal temperature. Unfortunately though, the process of dressing, and seasoning the bird will likely lead to contamination of a large portion of the kitchen, potentially causing further indirect contamination of the foods that have already been, or do not need to be cooked. On an alternative note, the use of a brine instead of water can potentially off set the growth of bacteria, depending upon the amount of salt present in the water. This was not officially checked in any manner though, so for safety sake it will be considered an invalid
point.
Furthermore, the process of disposing of the bacteria, and raw poultry cocktail that had been brewing for close to 24 hours cause’s further issues. Primarily that of disposal, this cocktail can create a multitude of problems for at risk groups such as pregnant women, young children, elderly adults, and immune compromised individuals. Simply dumping it in the yard creates a mess that pets, children and wildlife can walk through, further spreading contaminants throughout the premises. Not to mention contamination of the ground upon which the “cocktail” has been dumped, as quite a few of the above mentioned organisms are able to live in the soil for extended periods of time.
Fortunately for all concerned no one became ill in our family. Everyone enjoyed a bountiful meal and left overs were promptly stored and refrigerated upon cooling. I believe that the majority of the leftovers how now been eaten or tossed, to date none of the 18 individuals have become ill, or show signs of any food poisoning. I believe my mother has “warmed” the refrigerator up a little temperature wise, but I haven’t checked the thermometer to see what it actually is.
placing the bird in a clean disinfected sink, and using cold running water. Then came those words that are so dreaded by food safety people everywhere: “but I did it before and nobody got sick.” To which I promptly replied in Schneider fashion, “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try, and try again.” Needless to say, mom did as she pleased. I did however supervise the sanitizing of the cooler with chlorine bleach and a fresh water rinse prior to depositing the turkey in his briny cold water bath.
While the above is an entertaining story, it is also true, and probably happens quite often on holidays such as Thanksgiving.
To the layman it may seem quick, easy and safe, unfortunately there are many hidden dangers in defrosting meat in this manner. The primary danger pertains to bacterial growth. All poultry are prone to carrying campylobacter, not to mention E.coli O157:H7, Listeria, and Salmonella, to name a few additional party goers. These microbes quickly multiply when placed in a medium such as water, this in combination with the amount of time it is left in its juicy bath creates the perfect environment for exponential growth. This can be offset though by cooking to the appropriate internal temperature. Unfortunately though, the process of dressing, and seasoning the bird will likely lead to contamination of a large portion of the kitchen, potentially causing further indirect contamination of the foods that have already been, or do not need to be cooked. On an alternative note, the use of a brine instead of water can potentially off set the growth of bacteria, depending upon the amount of salt present in the water. This was not officially checked in any manner though, so for safety sake it will be considered an invalid
point.
Furthermore, the process of disposing of the bacteria, and raw poultry cocktail that had been brewing for close to 24 hours cause’s further issues. Primarily that of disposal, this cocktail can create a multitude of problems for at risk groups such as pregnant women, young children, elderly adults, and immune compromised individuals. Simply dumping it in the yard creates a mess that pets, children and wildlife can walk through, further spreading contaminants throughout the premises. Not to mention contamination of the ground upon which the “cocktail” has been dumped, as quite a few of the above mentioned organisms are able to live in the soil for extended periods of time.
Fortunately for all concerned no one became ill in our family. Everyone enjoyed a bountiful meal and left overs were promptly stored and refrigerated upon cooling. I believe that the majority of the leftovers how now been eaten or tossed, to date none of the 18 individuals have become ill, or show signs of any food poisoning. I believe my mother has “warmed” the refrigerator up a little temperature wise, but I haven’t checked the thermometer to see what it actually is.