"[While the FDA prohibits salmonella in the foods it oversees — including dog and cat food — the USDA allows it in raw meat and poultry destined for human consumption."
Oh.
Oh.
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That’s why a good food thermometer is NECESSARY!! Yet most kitchens don’t have one!! -
I read that article last week and it scared the beejeebus out of me. Makes me not want to order poultry from any restaurant.
Good instant-read thermometer
Good sanitary conditions in the kitchen and by the smoker/grill.
Anti-salmonella methods I use:- use disposable gloves when handling any poultry
- wipe down the counters afterward with antibacterial cleaners
- the plastic cutting board goes directly into the dishwasher. Then it gets a good scrubbing with a brush and antibacterial cleaner to get anything out of the cracks/cuts, gets well-rinsed and put away.
- the sharp knives get dropped into the sink containing hot soapy water for a thorough cleaning especially where the blade meets the handle.
- the Thermapen gets cleaned between temp checks below 160-165°
As many have said here before, salmonella is like kryptonite.
KathrynLast edited by fzxdoc; November 8, 2021, 08:18 AM.Comment
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Steve R. I had a chicken sandwich from Zaxby's last week that had an off texture in the middle making me think that even though it wasn't pink, maybe it needed another minute in the fryer. I've never seen that with their chicken fingers, which I usually get on a salad. I waited to get sick but thankfully never did.
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We use vinegar and water to clean and sanitize. Works great.
Also, a dash of bleach and a couple of drops of dish soap in water to dampen the kitchen towel helps in clean-up.
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Good sanitation habits are always wise, but it'd be nice if the standards for human food were just as high as for dog food and cat food.
It's good that the FDA is looking out for our pets.Last edited by RobertC; November 8, 2021, 10:39 AM.Comment
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If everyone handled all raw meat properly and cooked it properly, nobody gets sick.
RobertC numerous people have gotten sick with Salmonella whereby the only poultry product in the house was raw pet food....what happen there?
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fzxdoc nope, they had the sero-type of the pet food -
Given the serotype of the pet food they either were so poor they actually ate it (sad...) or they fed their pet, then didn't sanitize surfaces/wash their hands and prepared food for themselves that was eaten raw, e.g. a salad. Or cooked to a low temp, same issue.
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Pet food is served raw, hence the no tolerance for contamination there. I'd rather hope that people cook their chicken, which will kill the salmonella, eliminating the risk. Would it be nice to have no contamination allowed on chicken meant for us? Sure. But you're not getting your $1.99/lb chicken then.
You can freak yourself out all the time reading stuff like this but if you follow basic food safety protocols, it's just not a big issue. The larger problem is when things like lettuce are contaminated because we *don't* cook that.Last edited by rickgregory; November 8, 2021, 10:52 AM.Comment
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Steve R. - so, that's harder but it's why we now have clear food safety stickers in the window of ever restaurant here. Ironically, driven by a friend of mine who as a child was one of those hospitalized in the 1993 Jack In the Box e.coli outbreak (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_J..._coli_outbreak)
Every restaurant in the county has to display these and they're very clear https://kingcounty.gov/depts/health/...em/food-safety -
(for the second link above, click on the first item in the FAQ to see the image)
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As I understand it, salmonella-free raw chicken would be impossible, It naturally occurs in chicken.Comment
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Well we could demand all slaughtered chicken be irradiated but that didnt fly the first time it was proposed, so...
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I’m a big proponent of irradiated foods. I know that alarms some people, but I worked with radioactive materials for years. With the proper procedures and facilities you can sterilize a truck load of frozen chicken at a time. It’s the same with all the produce we import.
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"Several European countries have dramatically reduced salmonella in poultry by combating it on the farms where chickens are raised. But over the past 25 years, the U.S. has failed to bring down the incidence of salmonella food poisoning — even as the rates for E. coli and other bacteria have fallen dramatically."Comment
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Now go look at how they did that. Most of it is through vaccinating the chickens and limiting, almost prohibiting the use of antibiotics. But limiting antibiotics means the conditions must be much more sanitary... and likely less crowded. If that's true (I have to go do some work so can't check right now), it will decrease yield per farm and increase prices.Originally posted by RobertC View Post
In other words, we CAN do this. But it will likely increase prices and it will only reduce salmonella, not eliminate it, so people still need to do the common sense food safety steps.Comment
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S. Infantis Pattern 1080 is antibiotic-resistant, so I'm thinkin' it's probably good that limiting antibiotics means the conditions must be much more sanitary.Originally posted by rickgregory View Post
And, while people do need to follow food safety rules, it's kinda hard to predicate public and private safety on the perfect behavior of others. When my daughter was learning to drive at age 16 or 17, it would have been tough to rely on her perfect behavior to ensure her safety; I really did appreciate that we had a car with safety features just in case. It would be good if there were safety margins in the food we consume, too, so that not everyone needs to be perfect all of the time.Last edited by RobertC; November 9, 2021, 07:57 AM.Comment
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Hm... so I missed the antibiotic resistant issue. I think the worst part about this is that no one in the government has legal authority to impose a solution. And, while I think zero incidence is unlikely, there are ways to control it (vaccination of the chickens, less antibiotics (which increase resistance) and, yes, irradiation of butchered chickens.Comment
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