“Help! I’m having 20 people over for dinner and I think I cooked the meat unsafely!” The USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline receives similar calls every day about the safety of food. During the holidays, people are busy and sometimes forget that unsafe handling and cooking can lead to foodborne illness.
Here are some questions callers have asked regarding the safety of their holiday foods.
Q. “I just discovered I cooked the turkey with the package of giblets still inside the cavity. Are the turkey and giblets safe to eat?”
A. If giblets were left in the cavity during roasting, even though this is not recommended, the turkey and giblets are probably safe to use. However, if the packaging containing the giblets has changed shape or melted in any way during cooking, do not use the giblets or the turkey because harmful chemicals from the packaging may have penetrated the surrounding meat.
