Kevin Hargin, director of food-borne disease control at the Food Standards Agency (FSA) says: “The spread is out on the table all evening getting nice and warm – the bugs are having a great time in the salad dressings, the quiches and so on.

“The best idea is to only put out the food when you need, don’t leave it out all the time.” Plus you don’t want to be remembered for hosting the party that ruined Christmas.

Main culprits Campylobacter – this is the most common cause. The bacteria are usually found in raw or undercooked meat (particularly poultry), unpasteurised milk and untreated water.

Salmonella – raw eggs, milk and other dairy products – plus undercooked meat again – can play host to the salmonella bacteria.

Listeria – this can live in chilled ready-to-eat foods, like pre-packed sandwiches, cooked sliced meats and pate, plus soft cheeses like Brie. All should be eaten by their sellby- dates to be on the safe side, and pregnant women need to be especially careful, since a listeria infection can cause pregnancy and birth complications – and even miscarriage.

E coli – Most cases of E coli poisoning happen after eating undercooked beef (particularly mince, burgers and meatballs, or drinking unpasteurised milk).

Respect the bird It’s the star of the show on the day – but it’s probably the only turkey that you cook all year.

“People are not used to cooking turkey or anything of that size,” says Kevin.

Defrosting a 6-7kg bird can take three days if you do it in the fridge so give it plenty of time.

And if your bird has an icy core then it might not cook properly in the oven, running the risk of having a bit of salmonella or campylobacter making it onto the plate.

You’ll also want the juices to run hot, steamy and clear to know the bird is cooked.

Ice is your best friend Christmas is time for something to step out of the shadows and become the hero it was born to be. That is your freezer.

Kevin adds again: “People tend to order and prepare far more than they’re ever going to eat, so there’s a lot of leftovers and people think you can’t freeze that.

“But that’s one of the big myths. It’s safe to freeze the leftover turkey so you could bring it out again at New Year.” But when you do defrost, gobble [ahem] it up within 24 hours.

Unfortunately, another Christmas tradition for many of us is overindulgence, with festive treats, tipples and too many mince pies leaving many of us feeling rather sluggish and unhealthy come January.

However, Christmas doesn’t have to mean spending the new year clawing back our health.

Here’s how to have a very merry Christmas whilst still being kind to your heart.

Snack smart The main event on Christmas Day may be the lunch, but making sure you have breakfast will help to stop you picking at fatty and sugary foods during the morning.

Make breakfast a treat by serving poached or boiled eggs or a fruit platter with some fresh, wholegrain bread or toast – it might just stop you reaching for those mid-morning chocolates! Make mine mini: smaller portions mean fewer calories, provided you don’t eat twice as many! Choosing bite-sized mince pies is a great idea. Top the pie with a star or holly leaf shape rather than a pastry lid to reduce the total amount of pastry and saturated fat.

Don’t leave fruits languishing at the bottom of your Christmas stocking.

The big festive feast Turkey meat is naturally lean, but the skin adds to the saturated fat content considerably. Remove it before you serve the turkey and you’ll cut the fat by up to half.

Even if you’re not keen on vegetables, make sure you have a good helping of them. Boil or steam them rather than roasting to keep the calories down.

Watch out for salt in sauce: the salt content of bread can vary widely, so make sure you read the nutrition information when you’re selecting one for your bread sauce and try to go for a loaf with less than 1g of salt per 100g.

Portion distortion: if your best plates are much bigger than your everyday ones, you might want to think twice about getting the fancy china out. Bigger plates mean bigger portions, which can leave you uncomfortably full, not to mention the extra calories, saturated fat and salt that come with a bigger portion.

Be a healthy host If you’re having people over, there are a few things you can do to make sure you’re not stuffing your guests as well as the turkey.

Use your turkey leftovers wisely – a turkey curry can come laden with cream and salt but it doesn’t have to be an unhealthy option.

Add lots of vegetables and lentils and make the spicy sauce tomato based. It will go further and give your guests a healthier twist on a post-Christmas classic.

If you’re planning a three-course meal or a meal that comes with lots of accompaniments, serve smaller portions.

Make sure you provide plenty of vegetables or a salad alongside the main dish so your guests can fill up on these and help them to get their 5-a-day.

Avoid adding salt when you’re cooking and don’t automatically put the cellar on the table – your guests may not think about adding it if it isn’t there already. Try having little dishes of flavourings that complement your meal, such as fresh herbs, chopped chillies, lemon wedges or simply freshly ground black pepper

Partap had appealed his conviction and when the matter came up for hearing in October, the prosecution sought permission from the court to introduce additional evidence as it relates to field sobriety testing.

The appeal on Monday, also sought to do adduce the additional evidence.

Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) George Busby has been given until December 29 to file and serve his submissions in the procedural appeal which was adjourned to January 27.

Justices of Appeal Allan Mendonca, Prakash Moosai and Judith Jones presided over yesterday’s hearing.

Partap’s attorney Ravi Rajcoomar submitted that the issue was better suited for the substantive appeal.

In August 2012, then junior national security minister was charged with refusing to submit himself to the test outside the Zen Nightclub at Keate Street, Port-of -Spain. According to the evidence presented during his trial before Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar, police claimed that they saw Partap drinking from a bottle of alcohol while leaving the nightclub.

They testified that Partap got into his SUV, turned on the flashing blue lights and attempted to drive away before they stopped him. Police claimed that Partap refused several requests to submit to a breathalyser test as he said he would wait to speak to then Police Commissioner Stephen Williams and his lawyer.

Partap was eventually taken to the Belmont Police Station where he had the test, which he passed, after speaking to Williams.

Partap was fired from Cabinet by then prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, after he was charged. In July 2013, Ayers-Caesar found Partap guilty of the offence and fined him $5,000.

Ayers-Caesar had noted that by taking an oath of office as an MP and minister, Partap had sworn to uphold the laws of TT and had no excuse not to take the test.

“It was open for him to comply and then complain. He was called upon to display a higher standard of behaviour than what was displayed in the evidence,” Ayers-Caesar said as he noted that the police officers who testified against him were “credible, reliable and compelling.”

“Buoy data as well as reports reaching the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service indicate that sea conditions being experienced around Trinidad and Tobago continue to be rough with wave heights reaching 3.0 occasionally 3.5 metres in open waters and 1.0 metre in sheltered areas, becoming choppy at times.

These above normal marine conditions are attributed to persistent strong winds in the lower levels of the atmosphere, which continue to agitate the surface of the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea,” the release stated.

The release added that latest Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) Models forecast these elevated low level winds to persist for at least the next 24 to 48 hours, as such, sea conditions especially in open waters, are forecast to continue to be agitated for at least the next 2 days.

NWP Models forecast wave heights in open waters to continue to be 3.0 occasionally 3.5 metres but individual waves may reach in excess of 3.5 metres but individual waves may reach in excess of 3.5 metres at times particularly along the north-eastern coast of Tobago.

Choppy seas may be experienced in sheltered areas mainly around Tobago. Additionally, conditions may be exacerbated during high tide.

The release urged beach goers, small craft operators and other marine interests to be extremely careful in any sea related activity.

Using local parlance as he spoke with reporters outside of Tower D of the Portof- Spain International Waterfront Centre, Al-Rawi said the UNC behaves like it wants to win the lottery with FATCA but fails to understand that if, “you want to win the lottery, you have to buy a ticket.” Responding to comments by Opposition Senator Gerald Ramdeen that the UNC is holding to its call for the Tax Information Agreement Exchange Bill 2016 to be referred to a joint select committee (JSC) and indicated such in earlier meetings the UNC had with the Bankers Association and the TT Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Al-Rawi said, “Really and truly, this situation has got to stop.

These goal posts have to stop shifting.

Observing that Ramdeen indicated the Opposition is reconsidering its own amendments which it has refused to share with the Government and the Parliament, Al-Rawi said checks of those documents against amendments already made to the legislation by Government shows, “there is literally nothing left to cause any contention between the two respective positions.” He said the latest claim by the UNC of inconsistency in the bill and the inter-governmental agreement (IGA) with the United States, “in and of itself, shows the utter nonsense that is going on.”

Shrikissooon supported the Government’s seven percent online tax, but said urged better administration of it. Shrikissooon called for a comprehensive plan for TT’s development, to address the country’s illiquidity issues, overdraft and economic growth, rather than sporadic measures .

“I’m unsure whether the twiddling and tweaking of policy like this can actually deliver Trinidad and Tobago from the economic turmoil that it is in.” Shrikissoon also expressed deep concern if long-term bonds under debate yesterday are used to fund mere current consumption .

“Is it going to be used for Budget support?” he pressed. He queried the proposed hike in the borrowing limit/ceiling from $300 million to $2 billion, saying a similar bond-issue last December for US$1 billion had signalled the use of debt-financing to raise revenues .

She made the point to endorse Independent Senator Danayshar Mahabir’s earlier call for the Government to enforce the law and make persons obtain a licence to set off fireworks, as a new revenue-raising measure.

“I saw some persons throw it in people’s yards to scare their dogs so they could jump over the fence,” Ramkissoon related about loud fireworks.

“So it is looking now as a criminal tool.” She also lamented that loud fireworks sound like gunshots, and noted that the blast can harm the well-being of citizens including elderly persons.

The items were seized from inmates of the YTC during routine searches.

Scantlebury made a report to the Arouca Police Station and officers under Sergeant Joseph along with finger print experts went to the scene and secured workable prints from a window in the Superintendents office.

It is believed that entry was gained by sliding a window which allowed the intruder or intruders to gain access to the office.

The prints found on the window will be matched with those on file and police believe an arrest is imminent. Several of the dormitories which housed the inmates were searched for the stolen items but nothing was recovered up until yesterday.

Investigators believe it is an inside job.

During the exercise, 122 Field Sobriety Tests were conducted, one .38 special revolver, ten rounds of .38 ammunition, a quantity of marijuana, one wig and a ski mask were found and seized. One black Nissan B14 was also recovered. Three men, ages 17, 19 and 26 were arrested. Investigations are continuing.

In the Eastern Division, between the hours of 9 am and 5 pm on Monday, Inspector Jankee, Cpl Garcia along with a party of officers from the Rio Claro Police Station and Warrant Section conducted several anti- crime exercises in the Rio Claro and Sangre Grande districts.

During the anti-crime exercises eight warrants were executed and two persons were arrested on outstanding warrants.

In the sister isle, between the hours of 12 midday and 7.45 am on Monday, Cpl Jonas along with a party of officers from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) conducted an anti-crime exercise in the Scarborough district.

During the exercise, 11 persons were arrested on outstanding warrants. The exercise was coordinated by Snr. Supt. Archie and spearheaded by W/Sgt Piggott. Since these exercises, several persons have appeared in various magistrates courts to answer criminal charges.

Applicants can also download the application forms and further information from the ICCR’s website www.iccr.

gov.in “The application form duly filled in with six copies,” the MGICC said in a release, should be deposited at the MGICC, High Commissioner of India, Plaza de Montrose, Main Road, Chaguanas by Friday January 14, 2017. No application will be considered after that date.

For further information the director of the MGICC may be contacted on telephone numbers – general, 672-9184; director’s office, 672- 5276.