Recipes for Determining Doneness in Poultry Do Not Provide Appropriate Information Based on US Government Guidelines.

Edgar Chambers,Sandria Godwin,Taylor Terry

doi:10.3390/foods7080126

Abstract

Research has shown that consumers use unsafe food handling practices when preparing poultry, which can increase the risk of foodborne illness such as salmonellosis or campylobacteriosis. Recipes from cookbooks, magazines, and the internet commonly are used as sources for consumers to prepare food in homes and the expectation is that food will be safe when prepared. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), using a thermometer properly is the only way to accurately check for doneness of poultry. The objective of this study was to assess poultry recipes, including recipes for whole birds and poultry parts, to determine if food safety information concerning thermometer use was included within the recipe. Poultry recipes (n = 474) were collected from 217 cookbooks, 28 magazines, 59 websites, and seven blogs. Approximately 33.5% of the recipes contained a specific temperature for doneness, with 73% of those cooked to ≥165 °F/74 °C, as recommended by USDA. Ninety-four percent of recipes used cooking time and about half of the recipes used visual measurements, such as color or juices running clear, to determine doneness. This study showed that most recipes do not contain appropriate information to assure safe cooking of poultry by consumers. Modifying recipes by adding food safety information, such as thermometer use and proper temperatures, could increase the use of proper food preparation behaviors by consumers.

Highlights

Foodborne illness, including that from poultry products, continues to be a major public health burden, resulting in illness and mortality at national and global levels [1]
A common cause of foodborne illnesses is poultry, such as chicken, that can result in incidences of salmonellosis and campylobacteriosis, which, when combined, account for 1.8 million cases of foodborne infections in the United States [2]
This makes focusing on poultry food safety pertinent to efficiently decreasing foodborne illness

Summary

Introduction

Foodborne illness, including that from poultry products, continues to be a major public health burden, resulting in illness and mortality at national and global levels [1]. In the United States alone, 48 million people are affected by foodborne illness annually [2]. A common cause of foodborne illnesses is poultry, such as chicken, that can result in incidences of salmonellosis and campylobacteriosis, which, when combined, account for 1.8 million cases of foodborne infections in the United States [2]. This makes focusing on poultry food safety pertinent to efficiently decreasing foodborne illness. According to Healthy People 2020, cooking foods to a safe internal temperature is an area needing the most improvement among consumers [4].

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Conclusion