The Public Health Agency of Canada is announcing a Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak in that country linked to frozen raw breaded chicken products. Seven people in four provinces are sick as of June 26, 2017. Two people have been hospitalized. There was a similar outbreak in the United States in 2015, linked to frozen Barber frozen Chicken Kiev, a raw stuffed product. The outbreak sickened 15 people in seven states. The Public Health Agency's notice states that "This outbreak is a reminder that frozen raw breaded chicken products contain raw poultry and should be handled and prepared no differently from other raw poultry products. Follow cooking instructions carefully and verify the internal temperature after cooking, as recommended, before consuming these products. Frozen raw breaded … [Read more...]
UK Experts Urge Shoppers to Wash Hands After Handling Chicken Packages
We all know that raw chicken can contain pathogenic bacteria such as Campylobacter and Salmonella. But experts were more concerned with the bacteria on the inside of the basic plastic supermarket wrapping. Now experts in the UK are warning shoppers to wash their hands after handling these packages, since the bacteria could also be on the outside. An investigation by the Daily Telegraph found that the plastic exterior of more than 1 in every 100 raw chickens sold in Britain may have a potentially infectious level of Campylobacter bacteria. That means that 9,000,000 packages of chicken are sold with a "dangerous dose of deadly bacteria on the outside." When a shopper picks up a package of chicken, then snacks on food while shopping, they could get sick. Campylobacter is the leading … [Read more...]
Salmonella Outbreak in Canada Sickens 98
A Salmonella Infantis outbreak in Canada has sickened at least 98 people, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. The outbreak is linked to raw poultry products. Interviews of sickened individuals indicate that some illnesses were caused by improperly handling and repackaging raw poultry products. Others reported eating different brands and types of chicken. A sample of raw chicken taken from the home of a sick person has tested positive for the outbreak strain of Salmonella Infantis. Salmonella is commonly found in raw poultry. In fact, a study last year by Consumer Reports found that 97% of the chicken breasts they purchased from grocery stores and tested were positive for the pathogenic bacteria. The outbreak case count by province is: British Columbia (7), Alberta … [Read more...]
Salmonella Outbreak in Canada Linked to Raw Chicken
A Salmonella outbreak in Canada has been linked to frozen raw breaded chicken products. As of June 28, 2015, 44 people are sick in four provinces. Twelve people have been hospitalized in this outbreak. The outbreak case count by province is: Ontario (28), Quebec (12), Nova Scotia (2), and Newfoundland and Labrador (2). No deaths have been reported. People became sick between February 7 and May 23, 2015. There is no mention of any brand name and no word of a recall. The government is warning people to be careful when handling raw poultry products. If you are preparing frozen raw breaded chicken products, take these precautions: wash your hands well with soap and water before and after handling the products. Use a separate plate, cutting board, and utensils when handling raw poultry … [Read more...]
USDA New Measures to Reduce Contamination in Poultry
Yesterday, the USDA proposed new federal standards to reduce Salmonella and Campylobacter contamination in ground chicken, ground turkey, and raw chicken breasts, legs, and wings. These standards are part of FSIS' Salmonella Action Plan that was launched in December 2013. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said, "Today, we are taking specific aim at making the poultry items that Americans most often purchase safer to eat. This is a meaningful, targeted step that could prevent tens of thousands of illnesses each year." According to Consumer's Union, 71% of store-bought chicken is contaminated with pathogenic bacteria. And 8% of those products are contaminated with both Campylobacter and Salmonella. Government studies have found that 25% of cut up chicken, and about 50% of ground … [Read more...]
Campylobacter Uses Chicken “Juice” to Form Biofilms
A new study by the Institute of Food Research has shown how the bacteria Campylobacter uses "chicken juice" to persist in the food chain, attaching to surfaces and forming biofilms that make it more impervious to cleaning. Helen Brown, a Ph.D. student at the Institute, led the study. Scientists collected liquids produced from defrosting chickens, and found that Campylobacter used those liquids to form biofilms just like Salmonella bacteria, which are special structures that help the bacteria protect the colony from environmental threats. Brown said in a statement, "we have discovered that this increase in biofilm formation was due to chicken juice coating the surfaces we used with a protein-rich film. This film then makes it much easier for the Campylobacter bacteria to attach to the … [Read more...]
Antioch Farms Raw Chicken Linked to MN Salmonella Outbreak
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has announced that six people have been sickened with Salmonella food poisoning after eating Antioch Farms raw, frozen, breaded and pre-browned stuffed chicken breast entrees. Consumers got sick in August and September 2014 from the same strain of Salmonella Enteritidis. One person has been hospitalized. Dr. Carlota Medus, epidemiologist for the Foodborne Diseases Unit at the Minnesota Department of Health said in a statement, "our DNA fingerprinting found that the individuals were sickened by the same strain of Salmonella. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture collected samples of the same type of product from grocery stores and the outbreak strain of Salmonella was found in packages of this product." The product is Antioch Farms brand … [Read more...]
Study Identifies Risky Home Food Safety Practices
A new study at UC-Davis has identified many risky practices of consumers in their homes. The study looked at the preparation of raw poultry. The two most common mistakes were cross contamination and insufficient cooking. Christine Bruhn, director of the Center for consumer research at the university, who authored the study said in a statement, "the most surprising aspect of these findings to me was the prevalence of undercooking. We are now in summer, the peak season for foodborne illness, and these results come at a time when more consumers can benefit from being aware of better food safety practices." Those good practices include always washing hands with soap and water before cooking and after handling raw meat, poultry and eggs, never rinsing poultry in the sink, and always using … [Read more...]
Swiss Study Finds Raw Chicken in Hospitals has E. coli
A study published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, a publication of the Society for Healthcare epidemiology of America, found that more than 80% of raw chicken that enters the hospital food supply is contaminated with E. coli bacteria. The study tested raw chicken delivered to the central hospital kitchen at the University Hospital of Geneva in Switzerland. The bacteria is a new antibiotic resistant form called extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) that produces E. coli. Dr. Andrew Stewardson, the lead author of the study said in a statement, "while a high proportion of chicken contaminated by antibiotic resistant E. coli is a significant concern, robust food safety measures taken by hospital kitchen staff are able to prevent the spread of these pathogens and minimize … [Read more...]
More Salmonella in Chicken Parts Than Whole Chickens
The USDA is saying that Salmonella rates in young chickens have dropped 75% since 2006. But at the same time, rates of Salmonella infections in people that are linked to chicken have not decreased. More than a million Americans are sickened by Salmonella in poultry every year. There is a good reason for this: the Salmonella rate is measured on whole chickens, not parts. And more people buy chicken parts, which are more likely to be contaminated, than whole chickens. The current Salmonella outbreak linked to Foster Farms chickens found that 24% of the chicken parts products were contaminated with at least one strain of Salmonella. That is three times the rate of contamination on whole chickens and equivalent to the over rate of chicken part contamination in the marketplace. In … [Read more...]
