Food is an important part of many holiday celebrations.  You can help reduce the risk of foodborne illness for your family and friends during the holiday season by following some basic food safety tips. 

Eggnog
Homemade eggnog often contains raw eggs.  Raw eggs are frequently implicated in cases of Salmonella infection.  Consuming raw eggs can cause illness, especially to those who are young, elderly, or immunocompromised.  Use pasteurized liquid eggs when making homemade eggnog.  Pastuerized commercial eggnog is a safer alternative.  If you choose to serve eggnog, serve it from a bowl kept on ice to maintain it’s temperature at 4oC (40oF).

Buffet Foods
Ensure that foods being served to guests are kept very hot or very cold.

• Keep cold foods on trays of ice.
• Use crock pots or chafing dishes to hold hot foods hot.  Purchase a probe thermometer to check the temperature of the foods.  Ensure all hot food is held at 60oC (140oF) or higher.
• Avoid adding new food to serving dishes that are already in use.  Instead, use a clean serving dish each time you re-stock the buffet.

Antipasto
Traditional antipasto contains tuna or shrimp, and vegetables such as peppers.  These are low acid foods and cannot be safely preserved by cooking the mixture and placing it into a hot sterilized jar.  If the organism that causes botulism is present, you could run into serious trouble.

Several solutions are:

• Freeze your homemade antipasto.
• Prepare small amounts at a time and store in the fridge for no longer than 3-4 days.
• Prepare antipasto using a recipe that includes vinegar and avoids fish.  Add the fish right before serving if you desire.

Travelling With Food
When travelling with food, consider the distance travelled when deciding which foods to bring.  Hot foods must be kept hot, and cold foods kept cold.

• Pack cold foods into a cooler and place ice packs around the food.
• Wrap hot foods in foil and place into hot hold travelling cases.
• Consider bringing non perishable foods (such as rolls or cookies) if travelling a long distance.
• Serve foods shortly after arrival.