Preparing for the holidays can be stressful, but adding visits to the emergency room can cause unnecessary aggravation and heartache. The Ginarte Law Firm is here to provide some helpful tips to keep your Thanksgiving a savory and SAFE holiday!

Whatever your traditions may be, everyone has one thing in common- FOOD! Families and Friends travel far and wide to gather around to share a joyous feast with one another. Some traditions include football, others include exotic foods, but they all include the risk of potential injuries. This Thanksgiving make sure to be more aware of these risks. It is difficult to prevent the occasional football injury, but taking as many precautions as possible will eliminate some of these risks.

A recent trend brought to the dinner table is the fried turkey. Although delicious, this bird has a reputation of going up in flames.

To all you turkey fryers, The Emergency Medical Services authority (EMSA) provides some tips on how to avoid fires and grease burns:

• Keep fryer in full view while the burner is on.
• Place fryer in an open area away from all walls, fences, or other structures.
• Never use in, on or under a garage, breezeway, carport, porch, or any structure that can catch fire.
• Raise and lower food SLOWLY to reduce splatter, avoid burns, and NEVER use a FROZEN TURKEY.
• Cover bare skin when adding or removing food.
• If a fire occurs, call 911 immediately. DO NOT attempt to extinguish the fire with water.

The abundance of foods makes Thanksgiving notorious for left overs. Sometimes the leftovers taste better than the actual meal, but it is important to be mindful of the care you take of these leftovers.

Atlantic Training indicates how to store leftovers properly to eliminate food poisoning:

• When serving, keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold!
• Refrigerate leftovers promptly, no more than two hours after food has been served.
• Leftovers are most safely eaten within 3 days, or should otherwise be moved to the freezer.
• Store food in shallow containers.
• Reheated leftovers should be cooked to 165 degrees; gravy should be boiled.

We are now prepared to enjoy our Thanksgiving meal, but do not forget about our four legged friends! Surprisingly, Thanksgiving poses a serious threat to our pets. The American Veterinary Medical Association states that eating turkey or turkey skin – sometimes even a small amount – can cause a life-threatening condition in pets known as pancreatitis. Fatty foods are hard for animals to digest, and many foods that are healthy for people are poisonous to pets – including onions, raisins and grapes. It is very important to throw out the trash to prevent these little scavengers from making their way to leftover table scraps, and even more important not to allow guests from feeding your pets.

The Ginarte Law Firm wishes you a very Happy Thanksgiving from our table to yours!

SOURCES:

https://www.avma.org/public/PetCare/Pages/thanksgiving-pet-safety.aspx

http://www.atlantictraining.com/safety-tips/thanksgiving-safety-tips.php

http://www.emsaonline.com/mediacenter/articles/00000675.HTML