Direct video observation of adults and tweens cooking raw frozen chicken thingies
One of the first things I did after officially joining Kansas State University in 2006 was try and figure out some novel research. Chapman flew in from Guelph, we had a beer with Phebus at a local bar and sketched out a proposal on the back of a napkin, to observe people cooking chicken.
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Sarah Wilson, my composed colleague from the Guelph days, drafted the proposal and it got funded by the American Meat Institute.
The observational research was conducted in 2007 and the results were published this week by the British Food Journal.
Chapman created a novel video capture system to observe the food preparation practices of 41 consumers and the press summary is below, as is the abstract.
A Kansas State University study has shown that when preparing frozen foods, adolescents are less likely than adults to wash their hands and are more susceptible to cross-contaminating raw foods while cooking.
"While half of the adults we observed washed their hands after touching raw chicken, none of the adolescents did," said Casey Jacob, a food safety research assistant at K-State. "The non-existent hand washing rate, combined with certain age-specific behaviors like hair flipping and scratching in a variety of areas, could lead directly to instances of cross-contamination compared to the adults."
Food safety isn't simple, and instructions for safe handling of frozen chicken entrees or strips are rarely followed by consumers despite their best intentions, said Doug Powell, K-State associate professor of food safety who led the study.
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As the number and type of convenience meal solutions increases — check out the frozen food section of a local supermarket — the researchers found a need to understand how both adults and adolescents are preparing these products and what can be done to enhance the safety of frozen foods.
In 2007, K-State researchers developed a novel video capture system to observe the food preparation practices of 41 consumers – 21 primary meal preparers and 20 adolescents – in a mock domestic kitchen using frozen, uncooked, commercially available breaded chicken products. The researchers wanted to determine actual food handling behavior of these two groups in relation to safe food handling practices and instructions provided on product labels. Self-report surveys were used to determine whether differences exist between consumers' reported food handling practices and observed behavior.
The research appeared in the November 2009 issue of the British Food Journal. In addition to Jacob and Powell, the authors were: Sarah DeDonder, K-State doctoral student in pathobiology; Brae Surgeoner, Powell's former graduate student; Benjamin Chapman, an assistant professor at North Carolina State University and Powell's former graduate student; and Randall Phebus, K-State professor of animal science and industry.
Beyond the discrepancy between adult and adolescent food safety practices, the researchers also found that even when provided with instructions, food preparers don't follow them. They may not have even seen them or they assume they know what to do.
"Our results suggest that while labels might contain correct risk-reduction steps, food manufacturers have to make that information as compelling as possible or it will be ignored,” Chapman said.
They also found that observational research using discreet video recording is far more accurate than self-reported surveys. For example, while almost all of the primary meal preparers reported washing hands after every instance in which they touched raw poultry, only half were observed washing hands correctly after handling chicken products in the study.
Powell said that future work will examine the effectiveness of different food safety labels, messages and delivery mechanisms on consumer behavior in their home kitchens.
Self-reported and observed behavior of primary meal preparers and adolescents during preparation of frozen, uncooked, breaded chicken products
01.nov.09
British Food Journal, Vol 111, Issue 9, p 915-929
Sarah DeDonder, Casey J. Jacob, Brae V. Surgeoner, Benjamin Chapman, Randall Phebus, Douglas A. Powell
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=6146E6AFABCC349C376B7E55A3866D4A?contentType=Article&contentId=1811820
Abstract:
Purpose – The purpose of the present study was to observe the preparation practices of both adult and young consumers using frozen, uncooked, breaded chicken products, which were previously involved in outbreaks linked to consumer mishandling. The study also sought to observe behaviors of adolescents as home food preparers. Finally, the study aimed to compare food handler behaviors with those prescribed on product labels.
Design/methodology/approach – The study sought, through video observation and self-report surveys, to determine if differences exist between consumers' intent and actual behavior.
Findings – A survey study of consumer reactions to safe food-handling labels on raw meat and poultry products suggested that instructions for safe handling found on labels had only limited influence on consumer practices. The labels studied by these researchers were found on the packaging of chicken products examined in the current study alongside step-by-step cooking instructions. Observational techniques, as mentioned above, provide a different perception of consumer behaviors.
Originality/value – This paper finds areas that have not been studied in previous observational research and is an excellent addition to existing literature.
9 outbreaks, 2 dead, 130 ill from same Salmonella across UK
The Telegraph reports this morning that around 130 people have fallen ill with the same strain of Salmonella linked to poultry and eggs since August across England and Wales
Five outbreaks have been linked to oriental restaurants, three to other restaurants and one was in a care home.
Two people with the infection died in the care home, which has not been named by officials, but post mortem results have proved inconclusive about the cause of death.
Three other people have been treated in hospital, a report from the Health Protection Agency said.
Gratuitous food porn shot of the day - chicken stock soup
Sorenne eating lunch with dad, Oct. 4, 2009.
After the whole roasted chicken comes the chicken stock soup.
Cross-contamination is a huge risk, at home and in food service; 65% of UK chickens contain campylobacter
Food safety is not simple.
And because food safety is hard, it’s important to reduce the number of pathogens entering a home or food service kitchen.
The Food Standards Agency today published the findings of a new survey testing for campylobacter and salmonella in chicken on sale in the U.K.
The survey showed that campylobacter was present in 65% of the samples of chicken tested. Salmonella was in 6% of samples, 0.5% of these samples contained S. enteritidis and S. typhimurium.
Andrew Wadge, Director of Food Safety at the Food Standards Agency, said,
"The continuing low levels of salmonella are encouraging, but it is disappointing that the levels of campylobacter remain high. It is obvious more needs to be done to get these levels down and we need to continue working with poultry producers and retailers to make this happen. Other countries like New Zealand and Denmark have managed to do so, we need to emulate that progress in the UK."
FSA is to be commended for undertaking the retail survey, but should be slapped on the wrist for terrible risk communication, once again asserting that, “cooking chicken properly all the way through will kill the bug, so consumers can avoid the risk of illness.
“Taking simple measures in the home can reduce the risk of food poisoning. If food is prepared, handled, and cooked properly, avoiding cross-contamination with other food, then food bugs will not have a chance to spread and cause harm.”
Food safety is not simple. Piping hot is not an end-point cooking temperature.
The video below accompanying a terrific N.Y. Times feature on E. coli O157:H7 in ground beef demonstrates how easy it is to cross-contaminate, and they don’t even use a thermometer to ensure delicious 160F hamburgers.
Gratuitous food porn shot of the day - roasted chicken with garlic sage stuffing
Sorenne eating dinner with dad, Oct. 3, 2009.
Take whole chicken, stuff with 30 cloves garlic, sage and bread crumbs (I use whole wheat leftovers in the freezer).
Serve the roasted garlic with brie cheese on French bread.
Make stock and soup with the bones and leftovers.
A weekly ritual.
Food preparer Gordon Ramsey is boring, ineffective and inaccurate
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The National Hockey League season debuted on Thursday, and all 30 teams played on Saturday, including games in Finland and Sweden, the later featuring a ceremonial puck dropping by one of Heston Blumenthal’s love fathers, former Toronto Maple Leaf Mats Sundin.
The less I play hockey, the more I watch, which is somewhat sad. But it is fun to watch various coaching styles. The yellers never prosper, because after awhile, the players just don’t respond to the yelling.
Struggling microbiologist and food preparer Gordon Ramsey is an “,” and that’s probably why people watch him. But he’s a lousy coach.
Gonzalo sent me this youtube clip from Hell’s Kitchen last week, demonstrating coach Ramsey’s unique take on determining whether chicken, and later fish, is cooked or not.
About 1:25 minutes into the clip, Ramsey puts his slimy hands on some chicken and declares,
“Pink bloody chicken. That one is cooked, that one is raw.”
And Ramsey does a full Baby Huey by kicking a garbage can; that’s what happens when the yelling doesn’t work.
Gordon, baby, color is a lousy indicator of whether a piece of chicken is cooked or not. This picture of chicken courtesy of Pete Snyder (left), has been cooked to the required 165 F. Stick it in, man. And stop being so boring.
Kate Gosselin: use a meat thermometer and maybe you won't give your kids Salmonella poisoning
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Earlier this week on Jon and Kate plus 8, or whatever it’s called, newly single Kate took to the grill for apparently the first time and was terrified of poisoning her brood.
“Dear chicken, please do not give us sammonella. Love Kate.” (Salmonella -- dp)
Cara gets bloody chicken. Kate laughs this off and says “oops” in the interview chair. … Ashley confirms the raw chicken.
Stick it in. And don’t poison your kids.
Living for, and hopefully not dying from, barbecue in Maryland
Michelle Marcotte (bottom, exactly as shown), an ex-pat Canadian and regulatory affairs consultant based in Glenn Dale, Maryland, who has worked in 40 countries, eaten well, but carefully, and never been sick, writes:
My husband was born lacking the barbecue gene on his Y chromosome; so it is up to me to either cook or fetch barbecue. Here, in the steam bath that is Maryland in the summer, sensible people fetch barbecue from a roadside truck or trailer.
Barbecue is slow cooked pork ribs, chicken or brisket. It is cooked over a wood flame, on a grill. The grill is placed down the length of a converted home heating oil tank which has been turned on its side, cut open and hinged to form a lid. When the lid of the tank is down, the resulting oven is as hot as hell.
Since barbecue is a necessity of life, I watch for a smoking truck or van parked by the side of the road. A line of cars parked on the verge and the intoxicating smell of barbecue are evidence of other barbecue-addicted persons getting a hit.
So, this week, while waiting for my whole chicken to slowly cook, I thought to observe the food safety of these itinerant barbecue kings. It is a two-person operation: the cook and the boss. You give your order to the boss and he yells to the cook to start the selection process. You stand in line and wait, unable to speak because your mouth is watering.
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The cook uses a very long-handled fork to move the dripping raw, marinated meat from the cooler to the grill and then, using exceptional genius, moves the meat around the flame, placing it in various positions sufficient to result in slow-cooked deliciousness. The raw meat and chicken juice drips on the almost done and finished cooked meat on the grill. But, after each addition of raw meat, that lid comes down for a few minutes, the smoke comes up, the heat waves distort the air for 4-5 feet above the tank. I pray it is enough to kill the bacteria spread from the raw chicken over the cooked meat.
The boss takes his long handled fork and spears the meat that the cook has placed on the front of the grill. He whacks it down on the cutting board that has been in use from early morning. He puts disposable gloves on, and chops the chicken into quarters, the ribs into halves and the brisket into slices. He places it all in a foil-lined Styrofoam take-out box. He slathers it with barbecue and hot sauce. He then takes the gloves off, takes your money, puts new gloves on and starts over with the next customer.
In this scenario there was no handwashing, not even a pretense of handwashing. There was no tub of water on the trailer. The nearest meat thermometer is 10 miles away. And that’s how it is when you have a barbecue addiction. You take risks.
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You take the barbecue home and eat it promptly, praying to the foodsafety gods
Listeria-laden chicken on Virgin Blue flights leads to two premature births
The corporate geniuses at Virgin Blue airlines must be delighted that the listeria-laden chicken served on Virgin Blue flights that sickened seven and caused two premature births has been linked to Wollongong-based company GMI Food Wholesalers.
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But Virgin Blue served the food – they are responsible.
"It appears the likely source of the contamination was an ingredient supplied to the manufacturers of the wraps and not Virgin Blue or other companies who received the affected products. Virgin Blue has removed the product from service at the end of June."
Brisbane-based solicitor Mark O'Connor stated what any company should know: Virgin Blue served the food, Virgin Blue is responsible.
"The airline in turn would have to make a claim against the supplier of the food but for passengers, it’s the airline that is liable.”
Virgin Blue should check on its suppliers rather than trying to cover their ass with (bad) PR.
I said a quarter chicken not a whole chicken - unleash the oil
Borrowing medieval battle tactics, a 24-year-old Australian man poured boiling oil over his sleeping housemate last August because he bought a whole takeaway chicken instead of a quarter.
Today he was sentenced to six years in prison.
Justice Mark Weinberg said the man’s act was "of extraordinary violence bought about by your feelings of anger and resentment towards your victim. Yours was a cowardly act and one of great cruelty."
Teenagers can use thermometers for food safety
Food safety type and barfblog.com fan Valerie Hannig of Wilmington, Delaware, sent me a picture of hope this morning.
For all those government agencies who say people won’t use thermometers, so they have to be told to cook burgers until the juices run clear, or until the food is piping hot, or something equally useless, here is Valerie’s son, Alex, temping a chicken thingy (below).
Valerie says, “It makes me feel great that after all these years I have been in food safety, it is nice to see good habits passed down to the next generation of foodies.”
Stick it in.
Martha Stewart tries to kill Matt Lauer?
On the 7/14/09 edition of the Today Show, Martha Stewart cooked “Zesty Chicken Burgers” for Meredith Viera and a somewhat reluctant Matt Lauer. While Martha was going on about how special chicken burgers are, Matt quietly asked a food safety question.
Matt: “Obviously people are going to say you have to be careful how to cook a chicken burger. You have to get it to a certain temperature. Is that about right?”
Martha: “Um. Yeah. Well, you’ll see. It’s… It’ll won’t be pink inside. It’ll get …
Meredith: “It will have to be white inside.”
Martha: “Yeah, all the way.”
And then on to how beautiful they are. Martha went on from touching raw chicken to touching the bun she served Matt’s finished burger on. He turned away from the camera both times he “took a bite” and claimed they were very good. Who knows if he really ate the potentially killer chicken burger. I wouldn’t have.
If you cook chicken burger, use a tip-sensitive digital thermometer to make sure they reach an internal temperature of 165F. Wash your hands between touching raw meat and anything that is going to be served, especially if the person you are feeding is famous.
Many thanks to the barfblog fan who signaled Katie about yesterday’s Today Show.
Watch where you're sticking it in
I've loved Chicken with Broccoli and Cheese (of various brands) since childhood. These prepared-
but-raw entrees mostly fell by the wayside when I started cooking like a grown-up. But just last week, the crunchy broccoli with melted cheese hidden inside tasty breaded chicken thingies called out to me and my inner child, and a box of them was soon in my home freezer.
A couple years ago (under the alias C. Wilkinson), I watched a bunch of people cooking products just like these in model kitchens. I was helping graduate researcher Sarah DeDonder, who was curious what could be contributing to the half-dozen Salmonella outbreaks associated with such products that occurred in the ten years before the study (and the two outbreaks after).
The raw, frozen chicken thingies I brought home last week were made by Antioch Farms (a Koch Foods brand). The box's front label proclaimed, in half-inch-high letters, that the products were indeed raw. The back label warned me not to cook them in the microwave. It also showed me how to stick a thermometer in to be sure each one reached a bacteria- and virus-killing 165 F.
I found each of these label features fairly helpful. However, when I baked them for dinner last night, I modified the depicted thermometer-sticking method a little to determine the internal temperature of the chicken, rather than the filling.
I'm happy to report that the chicken read 175 F before it reached the dinner table. And it was as delicious as I remembered.
New Zealand court slams poultry processor
An Auckland woman whose company slaughtered thousands of poultry in what a judge described as stomach-turning conditions has been fined more than $23,000 in a case brought by the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA).
Ling Zhang and her company Ling Ling Poultry pleaded guilty in Papakura District Court last week to four charges under the Animal Products Act.
Judge Eddie Paul fined Zhang $20,000 for selling animal product that has not been processed in line with the Act and $3000 for not having a registered risk management programme, plus court costs.
He told Zhang that to call the operation ‘bad’ was an understatement: “Anyone viewing that barn in the manner in which those chickens were slaughtered, their stomach would turn.”
Children shouldn't play with raw poultry
One of Amy’s graduate students sent me the following picture this morning.
‘Nuff said.
Fresh whole chicken leaking bacterial-infested blood onto fresh produce - this is how people get sick
This is my fridge. This is my fridge on Salmonella and Campylobacter. This is how cross-contamination occurs. This is why it is important to lower pathogen loads before foods enter the home or a food service kitchen. Because foods can be a mess.
I bought a whole, fresh chicken a couple of days ago, but got some cheap lamb in the discount bin (the best time to go to Dillion’s grocery in Manhattan, Kansas, is between 10 and 11 a.m., lotsa foods discounted) so it sat in the back of my fridge for two days.
After two days in the back of my fridge I noticed fresh chicken blood had dripped into both the produce and fresh fruit crispers. Who designs fridges, engineers? Those drawers should be on top.
That red spot in the picture, that’s Salmonella- and Campylobacter-laden blood; it was also throughout the crispers. Those apples are in the pie we’re having tonight – whole wheat pie crust, love it. The rest has been cooked or tossed, and a full cleansing took place.
But food safety’s so simple; sure, without the chicken blood everywhere.
And this is my pie.
Grill It! And make some kind of effort to kill the bacteria. With Bobby Flay
After the successful tip-sensitive thermometer verified 145 F leg of lamb for dinner guests on Saturday, I’m back to basics for Memorial Day. Whole wheat rolls from scratch, spinach and tomato salad from the garden, and a roast chicken stuffed with an enormous load of garlic.
While entertaining baby Sorenne with initial solids – banana, sweet potato – I was preparing the chicken and trying to ignore the terrible advice from celebrity chef Bobby Flay, who said his BBQed chicken was done when it felt fleshy to the touch and the juices were running clear (sorta looks like the ShamWow douche, right)
This is absolutely wrong. Color is a terrible indicator. For instance, this image (below, left) from Pete Snyder is of a fully 165F cooked chicken leg with back attached.
Oh, and the cross-contamination involving raw product and dirty hands with Bobby and his guests was a microbiological disaster. But it’s OK. He’s a celebrity. Maybe they don’t barf like the rest of us.
Crispy, chewy chicken burger
I recently received a complaint from an individual who bit into a succulent chicken burger only to realize that the interior was still raw. This is the picture taken after biting into a crispy cooked chicken burger using a camera from a cell phone, gotta' love technology. This chicken was completely raw inside but appeared cooked on the outside.
My wife and I are finally embarking on our long awaited honeymoon to Europe to visit family and enjoy some time off. One of my all time favorite bands, Depeche Mode, will playing in Rome and we decided that we should go. Their latest song release reminded me of the answer I gave the establishment which was responsible for the raw chicken burger. An employee said that the chicken must of been cooked because it was really crispy-'Wrong.' Use a digital tip sensitive thermometer and stick it in.
Where has that meat been?
A news team in South Carolina used a hidden camera to catch nine area grocery stores reselling meat that had been returned to the store by members of the news crew.
Nine other stores tested by the team did not put the returned meat back in the display case. These stores were concerned that once the meat was outside of their control, it could be deliberately contaminated or allowed to get too warm – as they should be.
The same is true for meat coming to a store for the first time. Smart retailers use suppliers they can trust based on those suppliers’ openness about handling procedures.
Toronto police are currently alerting the public that a truckload of chicken breasts was stolen last week and has since been repackaged and sold.
Police photographs show that the stickers on the new packages tell consumers to keep the chicken refrigerated. Nice touch.
Retailers should know that consumers are not the first line of defense against foodborne illness.
What happened to the product before it was sold to stores? Did the thieves take the steps necessary to reduce the microbial risks associated with transporting raw meat? Could they prove it?
Peanut Corp. of America epitomized a business whose sole concern was turning a profit. I’m sure a crime ring would be quite similar.
So the big question is, did anybody ask?
Grocery stores who resell returned meat are taking the same risks as stores who sell meat from suppliers they know very little about.
It never hurts to ask questions.
Websites on stickers so consumers know where their food is from: still a cool idea 10 years later
Eat Me Daily looks like a decent enough food blog that found a chicken producer doing what I told the Ontario greenhouse vegetable growers they should be doing 10 years ago: if not marketing food safety directly, 
at least provide information for those who care, in the form of a url that the inquisitive type could follow up on at home.
So we were at the grocery store this weekend, and came across a Murray's Chicken with a sticker on it with a Farm Verification code, offering to let us "find out where this chicken came from and learn more about the family that raised it." … It even hooks into the Google Maps API to show you exactly where the farm is on a map. … Our code, 0289, revealed that our chicken was raised at 1020 Alvira Rd in Allenwood, PA 17810 by David Bowers. Hats off to you Mr. Bowers, that was one tasty chicken.
I agree with Eat Me Daily. Awesome. And one day, I will be cool.
How can you be sure microwaved frozen chicken is safe to eat?
Judy Foreman of The Boston Globe says the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends no matter how frozen chicken is cooked, from whatever kind of meal or chicken thingies, use a thermometer to ensure the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Good advice.
So why at the end of the brief article is Roger Fielding, a professor of nutrition at Tufts University, quoted as saying, "Always cut it open and make sure it is white, not pink or translucent. You really have to be careful."
Bad advice.
What you really have to be careful about is taking food safety advice from nutrition professors at Tufts University.
Color is a lousy indicator. Use a digital, tip-sensitive thermometer.
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CDC activates emergency group to find salmonella source
Elizabeth Weise of USA Today reports today that a single strain of Salmonella Typhimurium has sickened 336 people in 34 states, sending some to the hospital, over the past three months, but no one knows the source.
The outbreak led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to activate its emergency network this week, pulling in staff from other areas to work on the situation, says Frederick Angulo, deputy chief of enteric diseases.
"The lead hypothesis is chicken, but it's hard thing to prove. Everybody eats chicken," Angulo says.
Fowl findings surprise Swiss veterinary officials
As many as nine-out-of-ten chickens in Switzerland are infected with campylobacter, prompting the Federal Veterinary Office to call a crisis meeting of food and health experts, as well as poultry producers, for December 18.
According to a report in the Sunday newspaper, SonntagsZeitung, the veterinary office was surprised by the results of the unpublished study, expecting only half as many chickens to have been infected with the bacteria.
Most cases of campylobacteriosis are associated with eating raw or undercooked poultry meat or from cross-contamination of other foods by these items.
Bad cooking advice from Australian chicken industry
This is a picture I got from Pete Snyder years ago. It’s a chicken leg, back attached and it’s fully cooked. The red stuff has to do with the age the chick was harvested at. The point is, the only way to accurately cook meat is using a digital, tip-sensitive thermometer. Color is a lousy indicator.
Not so says the Australian Chicken Meat Federation (ACMF), which highlights a host of BBQ food safety failings, yet inexplicitly insists,
“Consumers need to be encouraged to routinely adopt simple food safety practices. The best way to check your chicken is to pierce it and see if the juices run clear.”
If it’s so simple, why can’t the industry get it right? Stick it in, and use a thermometer.
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Chicken soup may lower blood pressure, study finds
Lunch was delicious, thanks.
The key to a good soup or stew is a good homemade stock. Canadian Thanksgiving dinner last Monday night was a hit and the students ate everything so there were no leftovers.
I made a turkey stock with the remnants, and then cooked another turkey breast later in the week so Amy and I could enjoy turkey leftovers. What you see (right) is the second batch of stock draining into the stock pot, and a container of the first batch of stock that has cooled in the fridge so the fat has solidified on top. Remove the fat, sauté some garlic, onion, veggies (I use a mixture of frozen and fresh, whatever is around), add some turkey meat, fresh oregano and hot sauce and the stock and it’s turkey soup or stew for lunch.
According to a report to be published in the Oct. 22 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Japanese researchers have found that collagen proteins found in chicken may actually lower blood pressure.
Dr. Byron Lee, a cardiologist at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, said,
"As this study suggests, some collagen in chicken may lower blood pressure. But be careful. The salt we put on our chicken and in our chicken soup may offset or even reverse this potential benefit."
I don’t add salt.
Dougie Downer at the diner table
The microwaving raw frozen breaded chicken thingies turned out to be a huge media story. An outbreak picked up by the Minnesota State Department of Health turned into 32 people sick with the same Salmonella in 12 states, and led to numerous calls for people to be careful with this kind of meal solution, especially when using microwaves.
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I did an interview with radio station in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, about microwave cooking the other day, and the host was starting to get frustrated. It went something like this:
“Maybe I should just eat local, fresh food and wash it well and I’ll be safe.”
“No. Local can be safe, but consumers have to ask about microbiological stuff – what do the growers do to keep the dangerous bugs off fresh produce.”
“Oh, well maybe I’ll just be a vegetarian to be safe.”
“No, fresh fruits and vegetables are the biggest source of foodborne illness in North America today.”
“Oh.”
“Look, I’m not trying to be Dougie Downer at the dinner table, I’m just …”
Hysterical laughter at the other end. She called me Dougie Downer for the rest of the interview, and couldn’t stop laughing.
Saturday Night Live on Thursday also covered the issue last night. The clip is available here.
Sarah DeDonder: TV chefs can be dumb
A television show recently showed parents how to make chicken strips for their children in a short amount of time. The recipe was simple enough: strips of chicken were rolled in crumbs and placed in the oven for 10 minutes. The host of the show went on to explain, as the strips came out of the oven, simply squeeze the strips to determine the doneness of the product.
I was awestruck as the host revealed to observers watching nationwide her absurd method for determining whether the chicken strips had reached a safe endpoint temperature. The only reliable way to check the doneness of the chicken product would have been to use a food thermometer. Not color. Not the squeeze method. Just temperature.
Over the last ten years, there have been several foodborne outbreaks associated with frozen, uncooked, pre-browned chicken entrees. Lee Weiss of Milaca, Minnesota fell ill after consuming a chicken cordon bleu dinner. His wife apparently cooked the product according to the directions printed on the package; however, she did not check the internal temperature of the product with a thermometer. After eating the product, Weiss described a sensation of something “swimming in his stomach.” He had been violated by a foodborne pathogen. The infection left him with extreme weight loss, a large hospital bill, and difficulty eating specific foods in the future. This is just one illustration of an individual who has suffered from salmonellosis after eating an undercooked stuffed, pre-browned chicken entrée.
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Many individuals underestimate the importance of using a food thermometer, especially with small meat products. Most individuals associate using a food thermometer with larger meats, such as turkeys or roasts. The processors of raw, frozen breaded chicken entrees put the statement—Uncooked: for food safety, cook to a minimum internal temperature of 165°F measured by a meat thermometer—on their product’s packaging for a reason. What many don’t realize about breaded chicken products is that the breading alters the consistency of the product which could cause uneven cooking. And uneven cooking can lead to foodborne illness.
Recent consumer studies have revealed a variety of excuses why people do not use a food thermometer. Some place blame on their role models; Martha Stewart didn’t, so they don’t. Some have more knowledge about how to use a palm pilot than how to operate a food thermometer. For some, it’s inconvenient, others are lazy. Many think it’s unnecessary to stick a metal temperature reading probe into their chicken cordon bleu.
There are reasons why individuals should use a food thermometer. You are helping to keep your children healthy. Children under the age of ten are in the high risk group for getting a foodborne illness. By using a food thermometer you are ensuring the food product has reached an internal temperature high enough to destroy foodborne pathogens, thus reducing your chances of acquiring a foodborne illness. The overall quality of the product can be enhanced. By using a food thermometer foods will not be overcooked and will taste better.
Next time you are preparing a small meat product, such as a frozen chicken entrée, make sure to use a food thermometer, so you won’t end up like Lee Weiss—with something swimming in your stomach.
Sarah DeDonder is a PhD student at Kansas State University.
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Microwaves are great for reheating, not so great for cooking
An outbreak of salmonella in raw, frozen, breaded stuffed chicken has sickened 32 people in 12 states. As the number of frozen, meal solutions increase – chicken kiev, cordon blue, strips, nuggets and others – a Kansas State professor is warning consumers to be careful with that entrée.
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“Some of these frozen meals are fully cooked and just need to be reheated, and some are raw,” says Dr. Doug Powell, associate professor of food safety at Kansas State University. “It doesn’t seem fair, but consumers really have to read the labels. Raw product should always be cooked in an oven, not a microwave, and needs to be checked with a digital, tip-sensitive thermometer to make sure the food has reached a safe temperature of 165F.”
Investigators from the Minnesota Department of Health notes that this is the sixth outbreak of salmonellosis in Minnesota linked to these types of products since 1998. The findings prompted the officials to urge consumers to make sure that all raw poultry products are handled carefully and cooked thoroughly, and to avoid cooking raw chicken products in the microwave because of the risk of undercooking.
A table of the relevant outbreaks is available at http://www.foodsafety.ksu.edu/en/article-details.php?a=3&c=32&sc=419&id=1245
and below.
Salmonella cases in Minn. linked to raw, frozen chicken entrees; at least 14 sick
The Minnesota folks are really good at focusing on raw, frozen, chicken thingies during outbreaks of foodborne illness.
And once again, they’ve cracked the case.
(these aren't the products implicated, below, right, but an example of the raw and fully cooked products available at retail)
State health and agriculture officials said today that recent cases of salmonellosis in Minnesota have been linked to raw, frozen, breaded and pre-browned, stuffed chicken entrees. The implicated product is Milford Valley Farms Chicken Cordon Bleu and Chicken Kiev. This product is sold at many different grocery store chains.
This is the sixth outbreak of salmonellosis in Minnesota linked to these types of products since 1998. The findings prompted the officials to urge consumers to make sure that all raw poultry products are handled carefully and cooked thoroughly, and to avoid cooking raw chicken products in the microwave because of the risk of undercooking.
Investigators from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) determined that 14 cases of Salmonella infection since July 2008 were due to the same strain of Salmonella. The illnesses occurred in both children and adults; six of the cases were hospitalized but have since recovered. …
These types of products previously were marketed as microwaveable. Because of the inherent variability of microwave cooking, using this method to prepare raw frozen product can frequently result in undercooking of the product. Brands of product most commonly available in Minnesota are no longer being marketed as microwaveable. State officials are concerned, however, that consumers are still using microwave ovens for this product, out of habit.
We’ve done some research on this that is making its way through the peer-review process. But this is what was presented at the International Association for Food Protection annual meeting in Aug. 2008.
Abstract
Purpose – This study used a novel video capture system to observe the
food preparation practices of 41 consumers – 21 primary meal preparers
and 20 adolescents – in a mock domestic kitchen using uncooked, frozen,
breaded chicken products, and to determine if differences exist between
consumers’ reported safe food handling practices and actual food
handling behavior as prescribed on current product labels.
Design/methodology/approach – A convenience sample was utilized and all
participants were video-recorded preparing food in one-of-two model
kitchens at Kansas State University. Participants were asked to complete
a survey reporting food handling behaviors that would be typical of
their own home kitchen.
Findings – Differences between self-reported and observed food safety
behaviors were seen across both groups of consumers. Many participants
reported owning a food thermometer (73 per cent) and indicated using one
when cooking raw, breaded chicken entrées (19.5 per cent); however, only
five participants were observed measuring the final internal temperature
with a food thermometer despite instructions on the product packaging to
do so; only three used the thermometer correctly.
Significance – Data collected through direct observation more accurately
reflects consumer food handling behaviors than data collected through
self-reported surveys, and label instructions are rarely followed.
Originality/value – This study contributes to the overall understanding
of consumer behaviors associated with consumers’ intentions and actual
behaviors while preparing meat and poultry products, such as frozen,
uncooked, breaded chicken products.
You can't have three breasts at KFC - it's two breasts and a leg ... or else
A KFC manager hurled cooking oil, gravy and a metal chip drainer at a customer who complained after a server insisted he could only have two breasts and a leg in his meal, screaming,
"You'll get what you're given” and calling the customer a "motherf***er."
The Mirror reports that stunned families watched on in disbelief.
Police were called and both men were arrested at the restaurant and given £80 fixed penalty fines.
The customer said,
"That was the most expensive fast food meal I ever had. I got a battering from the Colonel. I just can't believe how rude the KFC staff were. The manager was swearing at me and insulting my mum. When I swore back it became a free for all. I was no angel in all this and responded when sworn at. But I'm now pursuing KFC for compensation for my ruined clothing."
The 26-year-old manager has been suspended while KFC bosses carry out an investigation into the incident at Ealing, West London.
Jamie Oliver: Slaughtering chickens to raise awareness about slaughtering chickens
The show serves up a giant dose of shock and awe as chicks are gassed to death and an adult chicken is killed for the meal. Yet throughout the show Oliver insists that he is trying to raise awareness about how chickens are treated in the poultry industry.
"I don't think it's sensational to show people the reality of how chickens live and die at the moment. It may be upsetting for some people but that's how things are. And if seeing some of the practices helps to change the shopping habits of just 5 per cent of people watching, then it will be worth it.”
Channel 4 factual entertainment boss Andrew Mackenzie said: "Jamie's simple message, in quite an overt way, will be: 'If you know what happens to a chicken before arriving on your plate, would you change the way you think about chicken? Would you still eat it?'"
Oliver had criticized Sainbury’s supermarket over its involvement on his show and has since apologized for it. It appears that his main goal to is encourage people to purchase free-range and organic chicken raised in less intensive facilities. However I found that most of the program depicting the slaughter of chickens seems to push people towards vegetarianism rather than purchasing their chickens from another source. You be the judge.
Court says Tyson chicken antibiotic claims must stop
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A couple of judges have now agreed.Today, a federal appeals court in Baltimore refused to block an order barring Tyson Foods from advertising that its poultry products don't contain antibiotics thought to lead to drug resistance in humans.
The lower court ruling was a victory for rivals Perdue Farms and Sanderson Farms, who are suing to stop the advertisements. The two companies say the advertisements are misleading because none of the companies uses those types of drugs and shoppers could be led to think other companies use the drugs.
I continue to look forward to the day when food is marketed and advertised based on the lack of dangerous bugs that make people barf and shit.
Woman says chicken foot from parade made her child sick
Mom Tracy Bamburg told 9NEWS that among all the beads, cups, and doubloons was a real chicken foot, which also happened to be raw. "We were all touching it, squeezing it, and playing with it." Then, the next morning, reality hit. "My stomach was hurting very, very, very, very bad," the little boy says. "He woke up with 103 fever and vomiting," his mother says.
Spanish Town parade organizer Bruce Childers said throwing raw chicken parts from the floats in this parade is not acceptable and that if the crew members who did this are caught, they will be banned indefinitely from riding in the parade.
Safe Food Cafe - Tailgating Tips
This video comes from November when the iFSN checked out the food practices performed at a K-State tailgate. Our team didn't win, but it was great to discuss food safety topics with serious grillers and sometimes, serious drinkers.
Best wishes to the University of Kansas -- not Kansas State -- which is playing in the Orange Bowl tonight in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, against Virginia Tech. It was a magical season for the Kansas Jayhawks until they met that other Big 12 powerhouse, Missouri.
And for you crazy, KU kids frolicking in the Florida sun, use a digital, tip-sensitive thermometer when sticking it in. Always.Bracelet found in chicken after 25 years
Associated Press explains that Giles had lived in Fairmont as a child and played hide-and-seek and other games with his brothers in their grandfather's barn near Sherburn.
The 31-year-old Giles said,"I would spend most of my time out at his farm, and that's the only place I can think of that I would have lost it."
Giles figures the bracelet was lost when he was 4 or 5.
The barn was dismantled a few years ago, and Giles thinks his bracelet was imbedded in materials used to construct another barn in Elmore, about 45 miles away.
The bracelet was found in a chicken that came from an Elmore farm.
Tiffany Eversley, guest barfblogger: Dry lips? Try some Chicken Poop
The label reads “100% free range chicken poop lip junk “ however despite the name, there is no fecal matter listed in the ingredients. In fact, the natural ingredients include all natural 100% pure non-GMO soy, jojoba, sweet orange, lavender, and bees wax.
I was relieved to find out that consumers weren’t actually putting shit on their lips. Chicken feces are often a vector of salmonella- a serious bacteria that can cause sever diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps.
Chicken poop lip junk originated when its creator, Jamie Faith Tabor Schmidt, heard her grandfather say, "I know how to fix those chapped lips, I'll rub some chicken poop on `em so you won't be lickin` 'em."
Along with the ambiguous Chicken poop lip chap, The Simone Chickenbone™ Natural Put-Ons™ line also includes “Good gravy”, a moisturizing hair pomade, and “Kill It Dead”, a natural vegan spray deodorant- great stocking stuffers for the 2007 holiday season.
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Tiffany Eversley is an fourth year food science student at the University of Guelph
Labelling frozen raw chicken thingies
There are hundreds of frozen products available at retail containing potentially hazardous food; some are fully cooked; some aren't. This is one example. The Kroger Chicken Kiev label states it's "Microwavable," but also says, UNCOOKED; Keep Frozen; Cook to an Internal Temperature of 165F as measured by a thermometer."
On the back, the microwave instructions say the time estimates are for a 1,000 W microwave, which is more specific than the high, medium or low on the ConAgra Banquet pot pies. I found out our microwave is 1150 W, but don't know if that is high, medium or low.
It's undercooked... or is it?
Almost two weeks ago Top Chef’s cheftestant Sara M. was sent home after two consecutive undercooked dishes. Admittedly, her halibut in the Quickfire challenge was raw in the middle, but she didn’t agree that she served raw chicken at the French Culinary Institute. She told the judges, “I sliced the chicken myself, and I checked every single one,” and to her colleagues she insisted, “That chicken was not $#%-in raw, cause I cut every single one.” Still, Judge Gail Simmons said her chicken was pink, and as the night went on, her chicken became raw in the retelling.
Does the chicken in this picture look cooked to you? Color is a lousy indicator of the doneness of chicken. The pictured chicken comes from Pete Snyder, meat thermometer guru, and has been cooked to the required 165 F. Sara would have had a stronger case, had her flavors not been off, by using a meat thermometer and having hard evidence to back up her dish. Cutting the chicken and visually checking the internal temperature is not a proven food safety method.Just yesterday the National Pork Board reportedly began their case for lowering the recommended cooking temperatures for pork from the currently approved 160F. Board member Steve Larsen said, "We've conducted an initial retail study and risk assessment, and the science of safety is definitely there to support the lowering." How would you know your pork is a few degrees off from optimal taste and safe cooking temperature just by looking at it? Ask pork superstar cheftestant Howie. He won once with perfectly cooked lamb chops that were verified with a thermometer.
Chicken in the coal mine
One Chinese family on the southern island province of Hainan decided to test a bottle of water on a chicken to see what would happen.The Beijing News, citing a report in a local paper, said, "The result was the chicken died within a minute," and showed a picture of a man holding a plastic bottle squatting over the crumpled body of the bird.
The story says that barely a day goes by without some new scandal over a made-in-China product, be it toys, toothpaste or fish, which has raised safety concerns in major export markets around the world.
