USDA creates Thanksgiving food safety hotline and app
November 18, 2013 | 04:00 PM
With Thanksgiving approaching, the Agriculture Department announced today that it has created a food safety mobile application and that its food safety hotline will be open on Thanksgiving Day to answer questions.
USDA said its “Ask Karen” food safety app contains a searchable database of nearly 1,300 questions submitted by real consumers and answers provided by the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline.
“Ask Karen” is available in English and Spanish and can be downloaded for free from the iTunes and Android app stores, or accessed at AskKaren.gov.
On weekdays between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. EST, the bilingual USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline provides live chat services through the app and also can be reached at 1-888-674-6854.
On Thanksgiving Day, the hotline will be available by phone from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. EST though live chat services will not be provided through the app.
USDA also has advice on how to thaw a turkey.
USDA said its “Ask Karen” food safety app contains a searchable database of nearly 1,300 questions submitted by real consumers and answers provided by the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline.
“Ask Karen” is available in English and Spanish and can be downloaded for free from the iTunes and Android app stores, or accessed at AskKaren.gov.
On weekdays between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. EST, the bilingual USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline provides live chat services through the app and also can be reached at 1-888-674-6854.
On Thanksgiving Day, the hotline will be available by phone from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. EST though live chat services will not be provided through the app.
USDA also has advice on how to thaw a turkey.
