Americans break a lot of rules when it comes to cooking chicken,
according to a study by the University of California at Davis.
About 65 per cent of the cooks didn’t wash their hands with soap and
water before and after handling raw chicken and turkeys.
That means they’re likely to spread harmful bacteria which,
according to other studies, are on a majority of birds bought at supermarkets.
Those who did wash didn’t do it long or thoroughly enough. Only 10
per cent who did wash kept it up for the recommended 20 seconds; a third didn’t
use soap.
About half washed their raw chickens and turkeys in the sink, which
is a no-no.
“The most surprising aspect of these findings to me was the
prevalence of undercooking,” said the report’s author, Christine Bruhn,
director of the Center for Consumer research at the university.
Forty percent failed to cook their
poultry enough, regardless of preparation method; only 29 percent knew the
correct temperature of 75 degrees Celsius (165 Fahrenheit) recommended by the
United States Depsrtment of Agriculture.
Few used a thermometer; only 48 per cent
owned one.
Most eye-balled results. Nobody calibrated
their thermometers to ensure accuracy.
Based on the study’s findings, a coalition of agriculture and food
safety partners, is launching an educational campaign to increase consumer
knowledge about safe food preparation practices in the home.
Partners include the California Department of Food and Agriculture, the
University of California at Davis, the California Poultry Federation, the
Oregon Department of Agriculture, the Washington State Department of
Agriculture, the Northwest Chicken Council, Partnership for Food Safety
Education and Foster Farms.
