How To Safely Thaw The Big Bird

So you've snagged a great deal at one of our stores for a turkey or two...and now the crunch is on.  It's time to prep the big bird, and it's frozen solid.  What to do, and what to do quickly, before your guests arrive?

There are three ways recommended by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to thaw a frozen turkey.  The best is to plan ahead for slow thawing in the frig.  Allow one day for every five pounds of turkey to thaw safely in the refrigerator.

But if you didn't plan ahead, you can quick defrost a turkey by submerging it in cold water in its original airtight packaging or in a leak-proof bag.  Submerge the entire bird, and change the water at least every 30 minutes or sooner if the water starts to warm up.

Third choice is defrosting in the trusty microwave.  However, if you do this, you need to immediately begin cooking the turkey, because as it thaws in the microwave, some areas become warm and begin to cook during the process.  This partially cooked part of the turkey can still contain bacteria that hasn't been destroyed by immediate cooking.

Now, as to the turkey's favored companion, stuffing (or dressing if you're from a different part of the country)...don't prepare it ahead of cooking.  If you cook it, then  you must refrigerate it immediately.  Never stuff an uncooked turkey with cooked stuffing.

For the safest stuffing, cook it separately from the turkey.  But if you choose to cook it inside the bird, it is essential to use a food thermometer to determine the internal temperature of the bird and stuffing.  Even if the turkey reaches the safe minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees F., the stuffing may not have reached a temeprature high enough to destroy the bacteria that may be present. and cause foodborne illness. 

Finally, refrigerate or freeze the cooked turkey and stuffing within two hours after cooking.  You can eat the leftovers up to four days after cooking, and frozen leftovers should be used within four months. 

Questions?  Call the USDA toll-free Meat and Poultry Hotline:  1-888-674-6854, weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (EST).

Wapato store highlights value, flavor

Following several months of renovation, the International Market at Wapato (formerly Wapato $ave-On-Food$) is hosting a grand opening celebration.  The colorful new decor is the backdrop for the store's unique new additions, all focusing on the best value and quality in town.

What's new at the International Market? The popular La Autentica Tortilleria has been added.  Imagine picking up freshly-made corn and flour tortillas, plus the brand's own savory recipe for spicy pico de gallo...a ready-made snack or meal basic, all at competitive prices, and all made right in the store.

Customers will be delighted to discover the Market's all-new Bakery and Taqueria, where new choices and old favorites are available throughout the day.  The Taqueria is a terrific option for busy people: pick up the essentials and build the meal at home, or grab a taco the way you like it when you're on the move.

An all-new Service Meat and Seafood Department features the freshest quality fish, shellfish, shrimp and more, alongside tender beef, pork, chicken and other choices.  Our expert team will help select the item that's just right for your family meals, and have plenty of ideas on how to prepare it, too.  Special orders are welcome.

Visit the Deli for new hot food choices to tempt your palate.  Loaded with flavor, you'll relish the many new selections we make daily.  Both Produce and Bulk Foods have been expanded at our customers' request, and the entire store offers selection coupled with the best value in town.

The International Market, located at 512 W. First St. in Wapato, has a slate of exciting prizes during its grand opening celebration, including the opportunity to win one of two $2,500 grocery gift cards to the store, a washer/dryer combo,a Hispanic-themed or football-themed party platter, a mini fridge and more.  There will be samplings of the many new products that have been introduced to the store.  Most important, customers will discover that value for their dollar and quality products are a winning combination.

Help Us Feed the Hungry

For the tenth year in a row, our stores joined in the food industry's crusade against hunger, Food For All.

Food For All raises money through checkstand donations during the holiday season.  At all our stores, from November 15 through January 3, we gratefully accept ed donations of $1, $3 or $5 from our customers and team members.

Each of our stores  selected a local food-based charity to receive the funds donated.  Over the past nine years, our stores have collected over $146,000 to feed the hungry.

It's a simple but powerful program: signs and posters at our checkstands ask customers to make a donation of $1, $3 or $5 every time they shop with us.  This donation is added to the customer's bill and the money goes to food-based charities.

Watch this space to see how much money all of us raised to feed the hungry this holiday season!

Country of Origin Labeling (called COOL) requires all food retailers to provide labels for fresh foods, including meats and produce.

The labels will tell consumers which countries their food came from.  Included in the list are beef, lamb, pork, chicken, fish and shellfish, plus fresh fruits and vegetables, peanuts, macadamia nuts and pecans.  The labels, for marketing purposes and information, are not a food safety measure.  All food safety measures currently in place will continue.

Items that are excluded from COOL include processed food and any commodities combined with at least one other food component.  This includes foods which are cooked, cured, smoked, fabricated, sauce- or coating-added.

The law took effect at the end of September 2008, and labels should begin appearing over the next few months.

Click here to read the USDA consumer guide to COOL

If the saying “you are what you eat” is true for salmon, then the US Department of Agriculture’s recent ruling for labeling farmed fish “organic” would make farmed salmon only about three quarters organic. On Wednesday this week, the National Organic Standards Board approved the nation’s first federal ruling on organic seafood certification - which allows up to 25 percent of the salmon’s diet to have come from non-organic feed (including small wild fish), while certified organic livestock must still be fed a 100 percent organic diet.

Up until the ruling, the USDA had established no standards for organic seafood - although some retailers labeled their product organic anyway. Many are concerned that this ruling undermines the integrity of federal organic standards. In a recent Consumer’s Union poll, 93 percent agreed that farmed fish labeled as organic should be fed a 100 percent organic diet.

The debate has challenged scientists and regulators for years, especially when the question is raised about the possibility of wild caught salmon being organic. The diet of a wild fish is out of our control - which is why heavy metals are still found in many of the wild fish species we consume. They eat lots of small fish and bioaccumulate substances that we would rather not consume (i.e., mercury). With farmed fish, we have control over what they eat, which potentially allows us to provide a diet free from the heavy metals and toxins found in a wild fish’s diet. But not all fish farming has been conducted responsibly, and much of the aquaculture performed today results in having very negative effects on surrounding ecosystems - from spreading diseases and parasites to keeping the fish packed densely together in waters highly concentrated with their own waste.

The fishing industry, our regulators and all people who love to eat fish are faced with a difficult question: how can we continue to eat the fish we enjoy while maintaining a healthy system for sustaining such a vital resource?

Given the choice between wild and farmed organic, which fish would you choose to eat?