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                         November 21, 2001

What about precooked dinners?

Some cooks forego home-cooking a turkey altogether and choose to purchase precooked dinners. There are also basic safety measures for the proper handling of these holiday meals. If the dinners are to be picked up hot, keep the food hot. Keeping foods warm is not enough. Harmful bacteria multiply fastest in the "danger zone" -- between 40 and 140 degrees F. Set the oven temperature high enough to keep the internal temperature of the turkey and side dishes at 140 degrees F or above.

Eat the food within two hours of pickup.

When picking up cold turkey dinners, refrigerate them as soon as possible, always within two hours. Serve the meal within one to two days. Turkey may be eaten cold, but reheating a whole turkey is not recommended.

Refrigerate or freeze all leftovers promptly in shallow containers. It is safe to refreeze leftover turkey and trimmings even if they were previously frozen.