Playing it Safe With Holiday Leftovers

Part of the holiday fun is eating the big family meal and enjoying the delicious left overs.

Following some simple rules can keep our food safe.

For starters, make sure you don't leave it sitting out longer than two hours and chill it appropriately.

Whether that's the turkey or a casserole, get it into the refrigerator quickly to keep bad bacteria from multiplying.

Put your food in airtight containers because air fuels the bacteria.

The temperature of your refrigerator should be set below 40 degrees to ensure that the food will stay safe.

You may want to get a thermometer if your fridge does not have one.

When it's time to reheat the leftovers, bring the temperature back up to the level needed when cooked the first time.

Make sure the poultry is at least at 165.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics says we should eat the leftovers within three to four days.

If you have any concerns about safety, when in doubt throw it out.

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Influenza is back in Minnesota.

The Minnesota Department of Health says across the state, 36 people were newly hospitalized with influenza during the week ending Saturday.

That brings total hospitalizations in the state to 104 so far this season.

The new hospitalizations were a 50 percent increase over 24 new hospitalizations the previous week, according to numbers released Thursday.

Health department spokesman Doug Shultz tells the St. Paul Pioneer Press that ''things are starting to increase.''

More Minnesotans were hospitalized with flu a year ago at this time - 173 new hospitalizations were reported during the comparable week in 2012.

But Schultz says it's too early to know how the current flu season ultimately will compare with last season, which was Minnesota's worst flu season in five years.