With the holidays upon us, gifting food is a common practice. Consider some of the food gifts you have received, and questioned the safety. Particularly a perishable item that in the past has been associated with a foodborne illness, such as a smoked turkey, dried meat product, or a succulent sliced ham. Giving and receiving gifts such as these are certainly appreciated, if you can be reasonable certain that safe food handling practices have been followed through the entire process.

If giving mail-order food, review the food safety tips that are provided on the USDA Mail Order Fact Sheet.

If mailing your own family favorite recipe, use careful planning and follow the same requirements that mail-order food companies must follow. They are there for good reason – they keep food safe, and keep people in business. The Food and Drug Administration recommendations for mailing perishable foods:

• Make sure the food is frozen solid or refrigerator cold.
• Use an insulated cooler or a heavy corrugated box packed with a frozen gel-pack, or purchase dry ice for keeping food cold.
• Alert the recipient ahead of time and set a mutually-agreeable delivery date.
• Properly label the package: "Perishable - Keep Refrigerated," on the outside, and provide a complete mailing address and phone number to ensure proper delivery.
• Ship your package by overnight delivery.
• Keep in mind that holiday shipping times are extremely busy, therefore shipping for overnight delivery is very important.

Sources: Highlights Holiday Goodies, FDA; USDA Mail Order Fact Sheet.