FSIS Reminds Consumers To Fully Cook All Raw Chicken Products

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing a public health alert to remind consumers to ensure that frozen but raw meat and poultry products are fully cooked before they are consumed. Using a food thermometer is the only sure way of knowing if your food has reached a high enough temperature to destroy foodborne bacteria.

FSIS has linked several cases of Salmonella infections in Midwestern states to stuffed and breaded, frozen chicken entrees. FSIS is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and officials in Michigan and Minnesota to identify the source of the infections and to ascertain whether the chicken products are the sole source of the illnesses.

Food contaminated with Salmonella can cause salmonellosis, one of the most common bacterial foodborne illnesses. There is evidence that consumers in these states may not have realized that the stuffed frozen chicken products contained raw chicken that only had been browned but not fully cooked. These consumers used a microwave to warm the products.

The USDA recommends cooking poultry products similar to the stuffed frozen chicken products to an internal temperature of at least 165