Top turkey cooking tips for Christmas from the Food Standards Agency

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has published an online guide to food safety at Christmas.

The guide includes a festive meal planner and tips on how to avoid food poisoning by safely defrosting and cooking turkey and properly storing and reheating leftovers.

For defrosting turkeys, its advice is to allow 10 to 12 hours per kg, in a fridge at 4°C. In a cool room with a temperature below 17.5 °C, allow between three and four hours per kg, or longer if the room is particularly cold.

When cooking, check it's cooked through thoroughly, with no pink meat in the thickest parts of the turkey, steaming hot, with juices running clear. A cooking thermometer, placed between the turkey's breast and thigh while it roasts, should reach 70°C for more than two minutes.

Leftovers should be cooled, covered and then put in a fridge or freezer within one to two hours of being cooked, and used or frozen within two days, or a day for rice dishes.

Make sure frozen leftovers are defrosted thoroughly in a fridge overnight or defrosted in a microwave, then reheated until steaming hot before being eaten.