Washington, DC - Thanksgiving is the largest meal many cooks prepare every year. Its centerpiece—the turkey—is the largest dish most cooks ever encounter, and many are not experienced at roasting one. USDA wants consumers to know that a range of resources, from smartphone apps to its 30-year Meat and Poultry Hotline, exist to help consumers through any food preparation conundrums this holiday season, wherever and whenever they may arise.

“Unsafe handling and undercooking of your turkey can lead to serious foodborne illness,” said Al Almanza, USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety. “USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has a variety of food safety resources to help with any questions related to preparing Thanksgiving dinner, including our Meat and Poultry Hotline that will be staffed will helpful experts on Thanksgiving Day.” 

Cooking Turkey like a PRO:

This Thanksgiving more than 46 million turkeys will be eaten. Cooking the Thanksgiving turkey can be tricky, and trying to figure out when the turkey is done is often the hardest task. But, it doesn’t have to be! Impress your family by using a food thermometer to cook like a PRO: Place the thermometer, Read the temperature, Out of the oven.

• Place the thermometer in the innermost part of the thigh, the innermost part of the wing, and the thickest part of the breast.
• Read the temperature to make sure that the bird has reached a minimum internal temperature of 165 °F.
• Take the turkey Out of the oven, and serve it to your family without worry!

Planning Ahead:

For big Thanksgiving dinners, planning ahead is very important. You can assess your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer to plan out your meals and your shopping list. When you are trying to figure out if you can use something you already have at home, keep the FoodKeeper application handy. 

The FoodKeeper is a mobile application created by FSIS in partnership with The Food Marketing Institute and Cornell University. The FoodKeeper offers storage advice on more than 400 different food and beverage items and can help you decide what you can keep and what you should throw out. It also offers handy guidance on leftovers, which you’ll probably have a lot of after the big meal. Download the FoodKeeper today on your Android or iOS device.

There Are Also Real People to Talk to:

If you have questions about your Thanksgiving dinner, you can call the USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) to talk to a food safety expert. The Hotline has been around for 30 years. Last November they received more than 3000 calls mostly about Thanksgiving dinner. You can also chat live with a food safety expert at AskKaren.gov, available from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, in English and Spanish.

If you need help on Thanksgiving Day, the Meat & Poultry Hotline phone line is available from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET.