Elder Care in San Francisco CA
One of the most important elements of Thanksgiving for you as a family caregiver is making sure that your loved one stays safe and healthy throughout the celebration. While you might think of summertime cookouts and picnics when it comes to food safety, there are just as many risks for foodborne illness and infection when handling the Thanksgiving feast. Focusing on reducing these risks is essential to protecting your loved one from potentially devastating health consequences.
While there are many food safety issues related to the actual cooking of Thanksgiving dishes, you must also keep in mind the issues related to food storage. Protecting the food during preparation and cooking is vital to keeping it, and all dishes that it is in, safe. Use these tips to keep Thanksgiving food safe during food storage:
- Clean out the refrigerator before shopping. Not having enough space in the refrigerator to hold all of the foods that your parent will store for the Thanksgiving meal means that it will have to sit out in potentially unsafe temperatures for longer as you prepare the space. Avoid this by cleaning out the refrigerator before heading out to the grocery store.
- Put groceries away promptly. Ensure that all cold foods are packed together at the grocery store so that you can put them away as soon as you get back to your parent’s home. Put cold foods away before focusing on any shelf-stable items so that they can get back into the safe temperature zone as quickly as possible.
- Avoid the door. The refrigerator door should only be used for products such as condiments that are not as vulnerable as other foods. Never put eggs, dairy products, or raw meats in the door as this is a warmer area of the refrigerator and a place that is exposed to the kitchen air more frequently.
- Put vulnerable foods in the coldest areas. Dairy products and raw meats are the most vulnerable of foods so they need to be kept as cold as possible consistently. Put these foods in the back of the refrigerator to keep them colder and protect them from the warmer air of the kitchen each time the door is opened.
The holiday season is the ideal time for you to consider starting elder care for your aging parent. This season can be stressful and difficult for your parent and for you, but the highly personalized services of an elderly home care services provider can help to ease this stress and encourage both of you to enjoy Thanksgiving and the rest of the season more. This can include helping your parent engage in the holiday preparations as well as offering care, support, encouragement, and assistance that will help them to manage their individual challenges and limitations throughout the season. When it comes to helping your parent keep their food safe during Thanksgiving food storage, this care provider can help them to keep their refrigerator clean and organized, remind them of safety guidelines, and go behind them to ensure their food stays in the refrigerator as much as possible.
If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring elder care in San Franscisco, CA, call the caring staff at Aviva In-Home Care. Call today: (415) 795-2203
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