‘This is also a no’: Hilarious social media post highlights what you shouldn’t do to your turkey, but there’s serious disagreement in comments

West Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina Emergency Management Division has a few things to say about turkeys, food safety and Thanksgiving:

Quick review:

1. The washing machine is not a cooler.

2. The dishwasher is not a safe deposit box.

And 3. This. This is also no.

Here’s what they’re talking about: Check out this amazing, dangerous photo of a fridge petri dish. What is THIS? Salmonella pond in the crisper, no? It appears someone is brining their turkey in the crisper drawer of a refrigerator, it’s pink juices filling -- almost to overflowing -- the drawer. Are you ready to join this host’s dinner party tomorrow? Nope, not us either.

Oh, we can’t avoid including the post -- it’s too good!

Here are some of the hilarious responses we found to the now-viral post:

One commenter wrote: “My grandmother used to thaw the turkey in the tub. We used to go over to see it the night before. It had to feed a large amount of people so it didn’t fit in fridge. We all lived to tell about it.”

Another wrote: “A former (mother-in-law) of mine defrosted her turkey in the bidet!”

“In this thread: There are two types of people.”

The South Carolina Emergency Management Division responded, “Right? Like, this isn’t a hard one.”

We especially love this from a person who said she is a “food safety trainer”: “I’m a food safety trainer. We always recommend thawing in the fridge to stay below the temperature danger zone. And this is the lowest spot in the fridge, so it won’t cross-contaminate anything below it. And if it’s brining instead of thawing, even better; the salt content in the brine combined with the low temperature in the fridge will significantly slow bacterial activity. From a food safety standpoint, thumbs up!”

South Carolina Emergency Management Division with the clapback -- “Wow, (name omitted), none of that is true. .... Meat and liquids should always be covered and stored away from other items to prevent contamination from bacteria. Always store raw food in sealed or covered containers at the bottom of the fridge. Keep raw foods below cooked foods, to avoid liquid such as meat juices dripping down and contaminating the cooked food. The crisper drawer of your refrigerator isn’t sealed, or generally sturdy enough to hold such weight. Plus, can you imagine the mess trying to pull that drawer out?!”

Even though the “food trainer” pointed out that it looked like there was nothing else in the refrigerator to cross-contaminate, let us be clear -- we’re definitely on Team South Carolina Emergency Management Division. Again, we’ll quote them, “Can you imagine the mess trying to pull that drawer out?!”

Another commenter wrote along that vein, “Who is cleaning that up?! A shop vac and Clorox wipes are not going to cut it.”

Another person wrote: “I’m not gonna lie…this is totally how I brine my turkey I did it in last minute panic the first time and haven’t found anything that works better! It’s a garage fridge though and I sanitize the bejesus out of it so it’s all good.”

South Carolina Emergency Management Division responded with this: “Please disclose this to your dinner guests.”

We’re totally reading the full comments when we’re not working, y’all. If you’re off work and just want some hilarious comments, you can read them all here. We’re fully in support of you doing this -- and checking with your host to find out how he or she brines your turkey. Seriously.

And in case you’re wondering, here’s some help from authorities who shared the post if you need help on this very topic of turkey food safety and thawing.

Here are also some government safety tips on preparing a holiday turkey.

What do you think about this viral post? What was your favorite comment or do you have something to say about it? Add it in our comments!