Poultry
 
 
Frequently Asked Question
   
  Foodborne Organisms Associated with Chicken

As on any perishable meat, fish or poultry, bacteria can be found on raw or undercooked chicken. They multiply rapidly at temperatures between 5 °C and 60 °C (out of refrigeration and before thorough cooking occurs), but they are destroyed by thorough cooking to 75 °C.

Most foodborne illness outbreaks are a result of contamination from food handlers. Sanitary food handling and proper cooking and refrigeration should prevent foodborne illnesses.

However, raw poultry must be handled carefully to prevent cross-contamination. This can occur if raw poultry or its juices contact cooked food or foods that will be eaten raw such as salad. An example of this is chopping tomatoes on an unwashed cutting board just after cutting raw chicken on it.

Following are some bacteria associated with chicken:

 

Salmonella Enteriditis may be found in the intestinal tracts of livestock, poultry,  and other warm-blooded animals. This strain is only one of about 2,000 kinds of Salmonella bacteria; it is often associated with poultry and eggs.

   
Staphylococcus aureus can be carried on human hands, in nasal passages, or in throats. The bacteria are found in foods made by hand and improperly refrigerated, such as chicken salad.
   
Campylobacter jejuni is one of the most common causes of diarrhoeal illness in humans. Preventing cross- contamination and using proper cooking methods reduces infection by this bacterium.
   

Listeria monocytogenes was recognized as causing human foodborne illness in 1981. It is destroyed by cooking, but a cooked product can be contaminated by poor personal hygiene.