The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has found almost half of adults who cook coated frozen chicken products do not always check the instructions. Are you cooking yours safely?
This is a guest post by Narriman Looch, Head of Foodborne Disease Control Branch at the FSA. All views expressed are Narrimanโs own and not necessarily shared by Which?.ย
As you may have seen there has been a rise in the number of cases of Salmonella (a food poisoning bug), since January 2020 linked to popular breaded chicken products such as nuggets, goujons, dippers, poppers and kievs.
With good weather and more of us entertaining at home this summer, we want to help you make sure youโre cooking these products safely.
To help you avoid Salmonella, the FSA has pulled together fourย top tips to make sure youโre cooking breaded chicken products safely. This follows the behaviour identified in our survey.
FSA tips for frozen breaded chicken products
โ Check the instructions on packaging and cook at the correct temperature and for the time stated.
โ Make sure the oven is up to temperature before cooking.
โ Treat these products as raw chicken, ensuring the surfaces they have touched are cleaned to avoid the spread of bacteria and that they are steaming hot after cooking.
โ Wash your hands, utensils, and clean surfaces after handling uncooked products.
It’s also important to remember to always to follow the storage instructions on packaging.
You can take a look at our Salmonella webpage to find out what it is and how to reduce the risk of food poisoning.ย
You may not realise that frozen chicken products often contain raw chicken, even though they may look cooked on the outside. While additional measures have been put in place by food businesses to improve the safety of these products, consumers need to handle these products as they should other raw meat products.
Cooking food at the right temperature and for the right amount of time will kill any bacteria that may be in your food. Therefore, we’re urging consumers to follow cooking instructions for these products to protect themselves and their families.
This was a guest post by Narriman Looch, Head of Foodborne Disease Control Branch at the FSA All views expressed were Narrimanโs own and not necessarily shared by Which?ย
Are you entertaining more at home this summer? Are you aware that breaded chicken products often contain raw chicken? Let us know in the comments.