USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and in honor of the holiday and the fact that most people aren't looking for a deep discussion of governmental groups, today we are looking at the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. This division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is in charge of protecting America's food supply. They are the group that inspects meat before it gets to the stores. They also put out fact sheets on safe food handling and meat preparation.

But what about Thanksgiving? Let's say tomorrow you are far from home and have decided to make a turkey on your own and Mom isn't answering her phone. Why not call the USDA Meat and Poultry hotline (1-888-MPHotline). They will answer questions on "safe storage, handling, and preparation of meat, poultry, and egg products." In other words, if you want to know how long to cook the turkey or what temperature to cook it at, they can help.

If you would like to learn more, check out our subject guides on Food Supply and Agriculture.