If you’re looking forward to a delicious – and safe – Thanksgiving dinner with your loved ones, it’s important to take proper precautions when cooking.

“A Thanksgiving meal, especially with a turkey, requires careful attention to food safety to prevent contamination and foodborne illness,” food safety expert Darin Detwiler, a professor at Northeastern University, told CBS News. “A raw turkey can introduce harmful bacteria into your kitchen, among other things Salmonella and Campylobacter… These bacteria can spread through the turkey’s juices to countertops, utensils and other foods, causing cross-contamination.”

Every year, foodborne illnesses cause 48 million illnesses, or 128,000 Hospital stays and 3,000 Deaths nationwide, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Fortunately, there are “simple steps we can all take at home to reduce the risk of foodborne illness,” the USDA notes on its website.

Here’s what you need to know to perfect your bird for the big day.

What internal temperature should you cook turkey to?

Regardless of how you prepare your turkey—roasting, deep-frying, smoking, or something else—the minimum internal temperature should reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit for safety, according to the USDA.

Reaching this temperature helps prevent bacteria from entering E.coli, Listeria or Salmonella is killed before the festival.

Where in the turkey should you place your thermometer to measure the internal temperature?

According to the USDA, the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast are the best places to check the internal temperature of a turkey with a food thermometer.

You should take the temperature even if your turkey has a “pop-up” temperature gauge, the agency recommends.

“Be careful not to let the thermometer touch bones when taking the temperature, as this will result in inaccurate readings,” the website says.

How to tell when your turkey is done if you don’t have a meat thermometer

“Using a food thermometer is the only reliable way to check if the turkey has reached this safe temperature,” Detwiler said. “Visual cues such as color or texture are not sufficient to determine doneness, as undercooked poultry can appear undercooked in some cases.”

The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Services provides a turkey thawing calculator and a turkey cooking calculator on its website to help home cooks estimate how long their turkey will take to cook.

But many variables can affect the roasting time of a whole turkey, including whether or not it is stuffed, whether the oven temperature is correct, what the roasting pan is made of and more, according to service instructions.

To make sure all harmful bacteria in your food is killed before you eat it, check the temperature with a food thermometer.

“Ensuring the turkey reaches a temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit will protect it from food-borne illnesses and ensure your meal is safe for all guests, especially vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, pregnant women and immunocompromised individuals “That’s for sure,” said Detwiler.

How long are Thanksgiving leftovers safe to eat?

According to the U.S. Food Safety website, leftovers should be refrigerated within 2 hours of serving to prevent food poisoning.

“Cooked turkey and dishes made with turkey, such as casseroles, can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days or frozen for longer storage,” the website says. All leftovers should be reheated to at least 165 degrees before serving.

Storing leftovers in the freezer will keep them “at their best quality for up to two to six months,” according to the USDA.

“Avoid reheating leftovers more than once to reduce the risk of foodborne illness,” Detwiler said.