Thanksgiving is right around the corner, a time to gather with family and friends, enjoy good food and relax. A few simple safety tips can help you make the most of this time with your loved ones.
According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), home cooking fires are three times more likely to occur on Thanksgiving Day than on any other day of the year, with Christmas Day and Christmas Eve ranking second and third. In 2024, an estimated 1,139 home cooking fires were reported to U.S. fire departments on Thanksgiving Day alone, 321% of the daily average.
Kitchen Safety Tips
Here’s what you can do to help keep your home and family safer:
- Stay in the kitchen when you are cooking on the stovetop so you can keep an eye on the food.
- Stay in your home while the turkey is cooking and check on it frequently.
- Keep children away from hot food and liquids. They should stay at least 3 feet away from the stove.
- Make sure electric cords from an electric knife, coffee maker, plate warmer or mixer are not dangling off the counter within easy reach of a child.
- Keep matches and lighters up high in a locked cabinet.
- Never leave children alone in a room with a lit candle.
- Keep the floor clear so you don’t trip over kids, toys, pocketbooks or bags.
- Make sure your smoke alarms are working ahead of time by pressing the test button.
Turkey Fryer Safety
Before you fry a turkey, the U.S. Fire Administration recommends the following:
- Place your turkey fryer on a sturdy, level surface, and do not move it while it is in use.
- Keep the fryer at least 10 feet from your home and never under the eaves.
- Test how much oil you need by filling the fryer with water first. Lower the turkey into the pot to make sure the water doesn’t get too close to the top, then measure the water and use that as your guide for filling the pot with oil.
- Make sure your turkey is fully thawed, with no frost on it, before frying. A partially frozen turkey will cause the oil to splatter and erupt when you place it in the fryer.
- If your fryer does not have a thermostat, use a kitchen thermometer that clips to the side of the pot. You must monitor the oil temperature.
- Create a “safety zone,” keeping children and pets at least 3 feet away from the fryer.
- Consider using an electric fryer or air fryer instead.
Food Safety Reminders
FoodSafety.gov offers these helpful reminders:
- Proper handwashing is the first crucial step in protecting you and your guests. Scrub your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds to remove germs.
- Sanitize all food prep surfaces to kill bacteria. Campylobacter and Salmonella, bacteria found in poultry products, can survive on countertops and other surfaces for 4 to 32 hours, so be sure to sanitize again after handling raw turkey.
- Prepare foods that won’t be cooked, such as vegetables and salads, before handling raw meat and poultry.
- Consider not washing or rinsing raw turkey. USDA research found that one in four people who wash or rinse poultry spread germs from the poultry to other foods being prepared.
- Washing, rinsing or brining meat and poultry in salt water, vinegar or lemon juice does not destroy bacteria. If there’s anything on your raw poultry you’d like to remove, pat the area with a damp paper towel and wash your hands immediately.
- The only way to kill bacteria is to cook meat and poultry to a safe internal temperature, checked with a food thermometer. Your turkey is safe to eat when the thermometer reads 165°F (74°C) in all three of these places:
- The thickest part of the breast
- The innermost part of the thigh
- The innermost part of the wing
- Cooked food left out at room temperature becomes unsafe after two hours. Set out just enough food for your guests and keep the rest in the refrigerator.
- The USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline is open on Thanksgiving Day from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern Time to answer your food safety questions: 1-888-674-6854.