‘Consumer Reports’ has just enabled some valuable advice about chicken, which finds itself in the news, for all the wrong reasons. From virus to bacteria, chicken seems to be hounded incessantly by germs.
When Consumer reports checked the status of 525 chickens, it found that nearly 83% of the chickens were infected with either the campylobacter or salmonella bacteria, or both. The bacteria are known to trigger diarrhea, cramping, nausea, fever, and vomiting, and can be the cause of life-threatening conditions in people with weakened immune systems. The elderly and children need to be cautious.The chickens which were tested had been bought from supermarkets, food outlets, wholesale outlets, and retailers, spanning 23 states. Richard Lobb of the National Chicken Council dismissed the reports, as ‘exaggerated’, as the tests were based on a diminutive sample. The report indicated a salmonella rate of 15% as against campylobacters’ presence in 81% of the chickens tested.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has enabled a reality check, and it has come to light that campylobacter and salmonella contributes to more than 3.4 million sick Americans each year and more than 700 deaths. The saving grace is to adopt absolute hygiene and safe cooking standards, as stipulated by Consumer Reports. They advise that it is safer to cook the chicken at 165 degrees and wash hands with soap and hot water after cooking.
Source-Medindia
SAV
