The United Kingdom's Public Health Laboratory analyzed food poisoning reports filed from 1992 and 1999 and found that 88 percent of the reported cases of domestic food poisoning were from family social functions.

"Food-borne outbreaks in the home seemed to occur when individuals catered for larger groups than usual," said Sarah O'Brien, of the PHL. "People may not have a problem cooking for their families, but many hosts, unused to preparing food for large numbers of people, undercooked meals, failed to keep food stored correctly and allowed food to become cross-contaminated, by using the same knife or surface to chop uncooked and cooked meats."

Chicken dishes and food containing raw egg were identified as the biggest source of post-party illness, by the British researchers. Poultry is the most often cited disease-causing organism in the United States as well. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that 60 percent or more of raw poultry sold at retail probably carries some disease-causing bacteria.

"People don't cook as much as they used to and then they tackle a feast at the holidays with a big bulky bird that can contaminate anything it touches," Caroline Smith DeWaal, food-safety director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, told United Press International. "People have to make room in their refrigerators to defrost a turkey -- for a 20 pound bird that can take four days -- and clear their counters and their sinks so they have room to maneuver."

In the British study, poor food storage caused 39 percent of the reported cases of food poisoning, undercooking 31 percent and cross-contamination 20 percent.

"It's not just watching out for salmonella in poultry and eggs because proper cooking will kill that, one can get food poisoning from any uncooked fruit or vegetable as well," Donna Scott, a food safety specialist from the Cornell University Institute for Food Safety in New York, told UPI.

"More people are eating more and more raw fruits and vegetables from more and more places but the percentage of food-borne pathogens from produce is still small -- people should not reduce the amount their consumption of produce because of this," Scott said.

Produce can be contaminated with E.coli and other pathogens from manure or human sewage in irrigation water or used in the fields to fertilize fruits and vegetables. Contaminated water used to wash produce may cause illness as may people handling the food if, for example, they have not properly washed their hands.

"Most of us in food safety recommend that consumers wash produce with clean water only," Scott said. "Where practical, as with melons that have 'hard' exteriors, use a scrub brush all over to remove soil and other adhered matter."

"We do not recommend (using) soap or bleach on produce because neither is an approved food," Scott said. "We don't want people eating soap or bleach and we cannot be sure that some consumers will rinse it off thoroughly enough. Besides, because of the microscopic crevices on the surfaces of some vegetables such as lettuce,soap or bleach might not do any good."

DeWall said that produce grown close to the ground such as lettuce and melons can pick up pathogens from the ground and while consumers can wash melons with water and allow them to air dry (water can spread bacteria) a knife can introduce bacteria on the surface to inside of the fruit.

This type of contamination must be addressed on the farm level, according to DeWall.

"While federal organic farming regulations require that manure cannot be placed on fields 120 days before a food is harvested most manure is composted and as a result the high temperatures kill the pathogens and bacteria before it is incorporated into the soil," Simon Harris, of the Organic Consumer Association, told UPI. "However, there are no regulations for manure in conventional farming and raw manure can be placed on food products in conventional farming."

Food-borne illness are caused by bacteria, viruses and parasites. Most common are E.coli O157:H7, Campylobacter, Salmonella, Staphylococcus, Listeria, hepatitis A virus, Cyclospora and Cryptosporidium.

Common symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal cramping, fever, headache, vomiting, severe exhaustion and bloody stools. However, symptoms will vary according to the type of bacteria and by the amount of contaminants eaten.

Symptoms may come on as early as a half hour after eating the contaminated food but typically symptoms may appear days or weeks later. Most healthy people do not get sick from contaminated food but food-borne pathogens can be very serious and even deadly for the very young, the very old, and people with compromised immune systems.

To avoid the unwanted guests of Salmonella or E.coli at a holiday dinner table the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S.D.A. advises people to:

* wash hands well with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds along with any surfaces, utensils or cooking equipment that have come into contact with raw meat or eggs

* defrost a turkey in the refrigerator and make sure the platter holding it is large enough so that no leaking juices contaminate other foods

* plan ahead, a large frozen turkey requires 24 hours for every 4 to 5 pounds of weight to defrost in the refrigerator (do not allow a turkey to defrost on a counter)

* thaw faster by placing the frozen turkey in cold water, allowing about 30 minutes per pound, the water should be changed every half-hour

* use a meat thermometer, test it in the thigh of a turkey, it's done at 180 degrees Fahrienheit

* make sure food isn't left out for longer than two hours -- hot food should be kept at 140 F and cold food at or below 40 F.

* bake stuffing separately or loosely in a turkey to 165 F because stuffing can be contaminated by bacteria from eggs and shellfish in the stuffing or the turkey itself. It is important to reach this temperature in all parts of the stuffing to be sure all bacteria are destroyed

* marinate meat and poultry in a covered dish in the refrigerator, not on the counter, and discard the marinade

* serve only pasteurized apple cider otherwise it could contain harmful bacteria, cider can also be mulled it by heating until it reaches 160 F or to boiling

* use pasteurized egg products or purchase pasteurized eggnog, or heat eggnog to 160 F

* leave cooked food outside of a refrigerator no longer than two hours because reheating will not destroy the toxin caused by some pathogens

* store leftovers four days in the refrigerator -- otherwise freeze it

* wash all fruits and vegetables under running water and pat dry -- including prepackaged salads

* don't taste homemade cookie dough or cake batter made with eggs before baking

* divide large amounts of leftovers into shallow containers not more than two inches deep for quick cooling in the refrigerator which should be set at 40 F

* don't over-stuff the refrigerator or cold air won't circulate

* don't spread bacteria with dirty sponges, dishcloths, or towels, the average used kitchen sponge harbors 7.2 billion bacteria, consider using paper towels or clean the sponge in the dishwasher

And don't think about spicing up holiday dinners with alfalfa and bean spouts. The seeds can be contaminated with Salmonella.

"There is no way to disinfect the living seeds without keeping them from sprouting," Scott said.

However, DeWall said that some commercially-grown spouts have the water they grow in tested for Salmonella and if it doesn't appear the spouts can be safety eaten raw."