There's still plenty of time to send or receive holiday gifts of perishable foods. An expert has tips on how to do that safely. Gary Crawford has more.

PARTICIPANTS: Gary Crawford. Meredith Carothers of USDA's Meat and Poultry Hotline. A famous cartoon bird.

The USDA's Meat and Poultry Hotline number is 888-MPHOTLINE (888-674-6854). You can also go online to Ask.usda.gov

Transcript

(Jingle Bells)

Ah, it's that time of year again.

Jingle bells and the giving and getting of wonderful holiday gifts.

Ah, humbug.

Oh, no, no, no.

I don't want humbug.

Maybe hamburger patties or any kind of food.

Or as a classic cartoon character, Woody Woodpecker, said about getting or stealing food.

Oh, boy!

Food!

That's my favorite dish.

Yeah, mine too.

Many of us like to make food items and ship them to friends and family.

This time of year, some of us have friends or relatives who order from companies, you know, things like steaks and all kinds of perishable foods to be delivered to us.

Or we order to deliver to them.

However...

You really have to focus on keeping the food at a safe temperature, especially if it's something raw, especially if it's perishable.

After all, we are perishable.

This from Meredith Carruthers with the Agriculture Department's Meat and Poultry Hotline, the number of which we'll give you in a minute.

So, let's say you are the sender of a perishable food item.

Meredith says, first, cold is your friend.

Dry ice or any kind of cold source that's going to last that duration of sending is going to be really important.

Or making sure you're picking a shipping option that will get it there quicker and still allow it to be kept cold.

Keeping that food below 40 degrees for the entire trip to its destination, that is vital.

Because once you've hit two hours at room temperature, it's no longer safe.

Any bacteria in or on the food can multiply quickly and make people sick.

Next, once you've packaged that food...

Write on the package, like, "Contains perishable."

So that way, delivery people or the person receiving the package knows that it contains something that needs to be put into a safe environment.

And don't try to surprise the recipient of that food item.

Make sure your people that you're sending things to know that it's coming so they can prepare accordingly.

Or if they aren't going to be there, they have somebody who can help take the package for them and get it into a safe environment.

Let's flip-flop that.

Say you are the recipient of a gift or some sort of perishable food item.

First things first, you'll want to check to make sure those cold sources have still been keeping the food cold.

If you receive any kind of perishables that feel warm or don't have any kind of cold sources present, we wouldn't recommend to use it.

Because that means it most likely hasn't been kept at a safe temperature for a prolonged period of time.

Of course, sometimes you may not be sure.

It feels maybe a little cool.

Maybe.

Then what?

We really recommend trying to use a food thermometer and sticking it in the food to see what that temperature of the product is.

Because if it's still below 40 degrees, that means it's still safe.

If it's above 40 degrees, there's a chance that it's no longer safe to use.

Don't take chances with that.

And Meredith says if there's any doubt, call the Meat and Poultry hotline or go online to ask.usda.gov.

And we can help work through that situation with you to make sure we're keeping you as safe as possible.

Hotline number is 1-888-MP-HOTLINE.

1-888-MP-HOTLINE.

Or go online to ask.usda.gov.

Gary Crawford reporting for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.