Safefood has teamed up with Award winning chef, Neven Maguire to launch new turkey cooking guidelines for electric, fan assisted ovens to produce the safest and tastiest turkey this Christmas.
Consumers can visit the safefood website www.safefood.eu or text 'stuffed' or 'unstuffed' plus the weight of their turkey in kilograms to 51500 to get the recommended cooking time for their turkey.
Dr David McCleery, Microbiologist, safefood said, "Christmas dinner is a really important occasion and turkey often takes centre stage on the day. Our latest research has revealed that while 82% of people in Northern Ireland will buy a turkey to cook this Christmas, just 29% use a time calculation based on the weight of the turkey to estimate the cooking time. Our unique research on the optimum cooking times for turkeys will help to ease the stress of preparing a turkey dinner, ensuring the meal is memorable for all the right reasons."
He continued: "Improper cooking can lead to the spread of harmful bacteria, which could cause serious illness. Regardless of what cooking method, timings or recipe you use, always ensure your turkey is properly cooked by checking that there is no pink meat in the thickest part of the breast and thigh, the juices run clear and the meat is piping hot throughout."
Previous safefood consumer research revealed that six in 10 people on the island of Ireland stuff the turkey cavity and almost a quarter (23%) stuff the neck. The stuffing should be loosely packed in the cavity and be no more than 10% of the weight of the bird. Consumers should also check that the stuffing in cavity-stuffed turkeys is piping hot at the centre as this is the slowest point to cook in stuffed turkeys.
safefood's helpline, website and SMS service can advise consumers on how much stuffing to use based on the weight of their turkey, and provide the recommended cooking time.
Supporting safefood's guidelines, Neven Maguire said, "Christmas dinner is undoubtedly one of the most special meals of the year, but preparing a tasty and nutritious meal for family and friends is pointless if the proper food hygiene practices are ignored. Any leftovers should be cooled and refrigerated within two hours of cooking and eaten within three days, making sure that they are piping hot and reheated only once. My recipe for a turkey and leek pie is a delicious way to use up the leftovers and is available on the safefood website."
14% of people in Northern Ireland who buy a turkey get their cooking advice from their butcher and safefood leaflets including the new guidelines are now available in butchers across the island of Ireland or from the safefood helpline and website.
Consumers should remember to thoroughly wash their hands and any surfaces that come into contact with raw turkey, and ensure any frozen turkey is thoroughly defrosted before cooking, so that Christmas dinner will be a safe and enjoyable experience.
Further food safety information, can be found on www.safefood.eu or by calling 0800 085 1683 for a copy of 'Christmas Cheer with safefood'.
