How to avoid food poisoning on New Year's Eve

Fatty fried chicken, mayonnaise-based salads, and oily cakes will be what you eat. during the New Year holidays.

What should you do to avoid food poisoning on New Year's Eve?

1. Keep everything cold

On holidays, eating isn't limited to family dinners. Friends will be coming over all the time, and you'll want to sit and eat with each of them. Some gracious hosts never clear the table because they're constantly sitting there.

So what happens? Salads, casseroles, pâtés, and other dishes sit on the table all day long and aren't put away.

What can you get infected with if you keep food warm all the time?

Campylobacteriosis is the most common case. The bacteria are typically found in raw or undercooked meat, especially poultry, fresh milk, or raw water.

– Salmonellosis. Raw eggs, milk, and other dairy products, as well as desserts made with them, and undercooked meat are sources of salmonella bacteria.

– Listeria meningitis. Listeria bacteria can be found in refrigerated ready-to-eat foods, such as pre-prepared sandwiches, salads, soft cheeses, and pâtés. All these foods should be eaten on the day of purchase or preparation. Pregnant women should avoid them altogether, as maternal listeria meningitis can cause complications for the fetus during childbirth and can even lead to miscarriage.

– E. coli infections are caused by E. coli bacteria. Infection occurs primarily through the consumption of undercooked beef, especially ground beef, meat sandwiches, and meatballs. Raw, unboiled milk can also cause infection.

It is better to keep food not on the table, but in the refrigerator, and take it out from there only when needed.

2. Cook poultry properly

Some people prepare for the New Year goose, duck or turkey - a bird that you wouldn't eat every day.

All these birds are quite large when whole, weighing 6-7 kg. Defrosting them can take up to three days if you simply transfer them from the freezer to the refrigerator. If you buy them on the last day to avoid freezing, you'll likely no longer find them in stores. These items need to be stocked up in advance.

If the poultry is not completely defrosted, it will remain raw inside. Consuming it can result in salmonella or campylobacteriosis.

To check if a roasting bird is done, pierce it deeply with a knife. If hot, steaming juices flow from the piercing, clear and not red or purple, the bird is fully cooked.

3. Don't forget about the freezer

Since the New Year holidays are days of constant gluttony for everyone, people buy a lot of food in advance and prepare a variety of dishes.

If there are any uneaten dishes left after the New Year's table, it is better to put them not in the refrigerator, but in the freezer.