The man who ate a whole chicken every day for 40 days straight (AlexiconTom)
You can't deny the convenience of putting frozen food to heat in the microwave, toaster or frying pan without oil (air fryer) when you're hungry and in a hurry, and in general.
But a new CDC report suggests that people are getting repeated outbreaks of food poisoning because they reheat frozen chicken products in appliances other than an oven.
These are usually stuffed products wrapped in breadcrumbs.
These are indeed cooked before freezing, but some of the products have completely live chicken inside.
Because of the breading, people often think they are fully cooked, but these chicken products need to reach an internal temperature of about 74 degrees to be safe to eat.
Therefore, they should be cooked in a conventional oven if possible, according to the CDC.
Since 1998, coated and stuffed chicken products have been linked to 14 outbreaks and about 200 illnesses, according to the USDA.
Last year, an outbreak involving these products resulted in 36 infections and 12 hospitalizations in 11 countries.
People who got sick reported ignoring the cooking instructions, cooking the food in a microwave or air fryer, cooking the food for a shorter time than recommended, or not using a food thermometer to make sure the meat was at the right temperature.
Studies have found that smaller, portable (and often cheaper) devices may not be able to heat or cook frozen chicken enough to kill various bacteria, most commonly salmonella.
For example, they may heat only one part of the chicken to a high enough temperature.
Take a few more minutes and put it in the oven.
Nuggets and spaghetti (photo: Alon Masika)
Most cases of salmonella come from animal products such as poultry, eggs and milk - especially from those that are not well cooked or from unpasteurized milk.
The reason for the spread of the virus is, among other things, that the instructions on many frozen chicken products do not include information about cooking them in anything other than a regular oven.
To make matters worse, data shows that many people ignore these instructions entirely, or throw them away long before they decide to cook a product.
And there are more reasons to give up frozen chicken:
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so although in some cases it can be safe to use a microwave or air fryer to prepare frozen chicken, experts say it's important to pay attention to the instructions, know how Look at raw versus cooked chicken, and check the power of the device to make sure it is capable of cooking the chicken.
CDC researchers conducted a nationally representative survey between May and July of more than 4,100 people who use such products.
They found that about 83 percent of respondents used an oven as one of their cooking methods for frozen stuffed chicken products, but 54 percent reported using other appliances instead of or in addition to ovens;
30 percent said they used an air fryer, 29 percent used a microwave, 14 percent used a toaster oven, and 4 percent used other appliances.
health
Nutrition and diet
Preventive nutrition
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chicken
stuffed chicken
diet
Salmonella
microwave
Air fryer