Is your chicken dinner safe?
We've been urged for years to cook poultry thoroughly to prevent food-borne illness. But just how contaminated are store-bought chickens in the first place?
Consumer Reports' latest test finds two-thirds of whole broilers bought in grocery stores nationwide tested positive for salmonella and or campylobacter, the leading bacterial causes of food-borne disease.
The magazine has been testing chickens since 1998. The new findings are a slight improvement from last year's. But advocates at Consumer Reports say the contamination is still too high and it is evidence that tighter government regulations are needed to ensure safe poultry.
Each year, some 3.4 million Americans are infected with salmonella and campylobacter. Another 25,500 are hospitalized and 500 die, according to the report which sites CDC estimates.
The report found campylobacter in 62 percent of chickens and salmonella in 14 percent. Of the big brands, Perdue had the best score; Tyson, the worst. Air-chilled broilers were the cleanest chickens with about 60 percent showing no trace of either bacterium. Organic chickens showed no salmonella at all, but less than half --43 percent -- were free from campylobacter.
The best away to avoid contamination: cook chicken to at least 165 degrees and be careful with your prep. Be sure to keep chicken from touching other foods. Here's Consumer Reports' full list of precautions.
Baltimore Sun photo
