(COLDWATER) - Christmas is just a few days away.
Whether you are hosting this year's Holiday meal or going to another place, make sure that every item is prepared properly for a good and safe meal.
Joe Frazier, Director of Environmental Health with the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency says make sure that when you are preparing your food you are doing it in a clean area. If you are using a cutting board or another surface, make sure you are washing it and your utensils with warm soap and water and towel dry them between foods. (LISTEN ABOVE).
Whether you have a turkey or ham for dinner, Frazier says you need to make sure it's cooked all the way through. For a turkey, that means the internal temperature should be 165 degrees when you check the thickest part of the bird.
Frazier says after you finish eating, don't let the leftovers sit out for too long. It's a good rule of thumb to refrigerate any left over food within two hours after you finish the meal and not let them sit out.
It's a good idea to eat any leftovers within 3 to 4 days.