It’s that time of year. The office is closing for two days of football and turkey. And right before the festivities, employers often host some sort of office Thanksgiving luncheon. Employees show up with a number of dishes either prepared from home or purchased last minute from the store. This delicious cornucopia of dishes, ranging from pizza to fried chicken, highlights hidden cooking talent (or lack thereof), but also may pose hidden dangers—some quite serious. As usual, CorpCounsel.com has you covered with a guide for keeping your professional Thanksgiving feast fully compliant.

Watch Food Temperature

Food safety is a serious compliance risk for any potluck lunch. Notwithstanding the best intentions, inevitably a coworker will have to cook the stuffing in the office microwave. Or, potentially, something more complicated like yams. We all know the office microwave hasn’t been the same since Dave in Finance tried to cook three bags of popcorn in a metal bowl. The microwave may simply not be up to turning a medley of cornbread, sausage, carrots, celery and other good ingredients into stuffing. But that may not stop our fellow employee from trying, rather than risk ridicule for failing to show up with a dish.

A good compliance-minded host should ensure that all food has been properly cooked and is maintained at the proper temperature. Make sure those deviled eggs are kept cold and all turduckens have been thoroughly cooked. Although some may view this premature tasting as cutting in line, you can classify this as a food safety test.

Check Packaging

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