Practice Safety When Dealing with Raw Chicken

by Susan on 12/01/09 at 8:05 am

Delicious Roasted Chicken

New details emerging from the January 2010 issue of Consumer Reports reminds us about the importance of taking safety precautions when dealing with raw chicken. As one of the most popular and affordable proteins available, the average American eats more than 80 pounds of chicken a year. It is a key mealtime ingredient, both at home and in restaurants. However, Consumer Reports discovered that two-thirds of all raw chicken purchased is tainted with either the salmonella or campylobacter bacteria – or both. Only 34 percent of the 382 chickens purchased by Consumer Reports from more than 100 stores in 22 states came up clean, without any evidence of contamination.

The “good” news, however, is that this is an improvement over the last time the organization tested chicken, back in January 2007. At that time, 80 percent of chicken tested had dangerous levels of bacteria.

Richard Lobb, spokesperson for the National Chicken Council said, “Chicken is safe. Like all fresh foods, raw chicken may have some microorganisms present, but these are destroyed by the heat of normal cooking. Consumers are encouraged to follow the safe handling and cooking instructions printed on every package of fresh meat and poultry sold in this country.”

As a reminder, here are some helpful tips to ensure that you are properly handling and cooking chicken.

Purchase chicken that is well wrapped. Avoid packages that show signs of leakage.
Put the chicken package in a plastic produce bag so it does not cross-contaminate any other foods in your shopping cart.
After prepping chicken, use hot, soapy water and paper towels to wash and dry anything you and the raw chicken might have touched.
Cook chicken to at least 165 degrees.
If you are not going to prepare chicken within one to two days, freeze it.

Hungry? Why not make one of these chicken recipes?

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