We Practice Safe Sites

A little review of food-preparation safety seems appropriate, since November marks the season when many of us become embattled in the kitchen. Home Food Safety (http:www.homefoodsafety.org), a Web site from the American Dietetic Assn. and ConAgra Inc., is helpful for its basic tips and links. Although some Internet safety information is stodgy, this is easy to read. But as with other sources of cautionary food advice, it is a bit overly so. One tip, for instance, is to wear latex gloves if you have a sore or cut on your hand (when you're cooking?). And a cooking temperature chart based on USDA guidelines advises cooking whole turkey until it registers 180 degrees on a meat thermometer; the Times Test Kitchen has found 165 degrees sufficient to knock out all the bad bugs, as well as produce a moister turkey.

You can also ask questions of dietary and cooking experts, review recent news on food safety and link with other sites, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (http://www.cdc.gov). Just don't panic if you haven't disinfected your sponges properly, as the site suggests; you can start now. Save your stress for the turkey.