The Single Riskiest Food On Your Thanksgiving Table, According To Scientists

The last thing you want is to give someone a holiday-ruining foodborne illness.

It may seem like the biggest danger at Thanksgiving is the risk that your family will erupt into an argument, but in fact, there are many dangers lurking right on the Thanksgiving table, say food scientists.

“It’s risky in a way you wouldn’t expect,” said Bryan Quoc Le, a food scientist and author of “150 Food Science Questions Answered.” “You might not be realizing how everything’s made in big batches and left out for hours, for example. ... Thanksgiving fights [against] time and temperature control in crowded kitchens.”

Do people really get sick from Thanksgiving dinner?

Viruses can be spread at any time, according to Amarat (Amy) Simonne, a professor of food safety and quality at the University of Florida’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

While she said that the CDC hasn’t collected specific data on foods associated with holiday seasons, one study reported an uptick in certain salmonella cases following the Thanksgiving holiday, which the researchers said was most likely related to foods disproportionately eaten then, particularly turkey. Salmonella typically causes diarrhea, fever and abdominal pain that can last as long as a week, but can also lead to hospitalization and even death.