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April 5, 2006
In recent months a number of frozen chicken entrees have been recalled due to product labeling phrases.
Frozen products labeled with phrases such as "Cook & Serve," "Ready to Cook," and "Oven Ready" should convey to consumers that the product is NOT ready-to-eat and must be fully cooked for food safety. Although some of these products may appear to be browned or pre-cooked they MUST be handled and prepared the same as raw poultry.
If you are using a microwave oven to cook meat and poultry products, be certain to follow the specific product directions. Microwave ovens typically cook products at non-uniform rates, which can create "cold spots." Because of this creation of cold spots, it is very important to take multiple temperature readings with a food thermometer at various locations throughout the product.
With many of these frozen chicken entrees, it is important that the product is covered sufficiently for steam to build in the product, and that the product is set aside for a sufficient time for the heat to uniformly spread throughout the product at the completion of the microwave cycle. This will ensure that there are no "cold spots."
Several factors with the recalled chicken entrees may have caused consumers to believe these raw products are pre-cooked. These include their frozen state, labeling and a cooked appearance.
Because of these characteristics, consumers may not be following cooking instructions. As with a high percentage of all raw poultry, these products were contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis which can cause human illness. Illnesses in Minnesota have been linked directly to these products and the failure to cook them to a minimum internal temperature of 165°.
The recalled products were distributed to retail establishments nationwide and are stuffed with cheese or other ingredients. This means they'll likely take longer to cook to reach the safe minimum internal temperature, compared to chicken breasts that are not stuffed.
Consumers with food safety questions can call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at (888)674-6854. The hotline is available in English and Spanish and can be reached from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Recorded food safety messages are available 24 hours a day.
If you have specific questions concerning the recalled products, contact the Maple Leaf Farms consumer hotline at (866) 873-7589.
(Lou Ann Jopp is a food science educator with the University of Minnesota Extension Service Regional Center, St. Cloud. Source: Dairy, Food & Meat Inspection, Minnesota Department of Agriculture)
NOTE: News releases were current as of the date of issue. If you have a question on older releases, use the news release search (upper left-hand column of the News main page) or the main Extension search (upper right of this page) to locate more recent information.
