Outbreaks Prompt Scrutiny of Frozen Chicken Food Labeling

Federal food-safety officials are considering whether labels on some frozen chicken products adequately inform consumers that the chicken is raw and provide sufficient cooking instructions.

Stuffed chicken entrees — which look cooked because they're breaded and prebrowned so that the breading sticks — are blamed for five Salmonella outbreaks since 1998 that sickened 71 people, Minnesota health officials say. For every illness detected, more go unreported, officials say.

The latest outbreak, in Minnesota in March, occurred even though the products' labels changed more than a year ago to more explicitly state that the chicken is uncooked. "We've done everything we think is appropriate, but if consumer behavior hasn't changed, we have to deal with that," says David Goldman, assistant administrator for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Some food-safety experts say March's outbreak indicates that the label changes weren't enough and that the products should be precooked or irradiated by the manufacturer so that bacteria is killed.

"They look precooked, plus they are marketed as convenience foods," says Carlota Medus, epidemiologist with the Minnesota Department of Health. Consumers may think the chicken is cooked and only reheat it, which doesn't kill bacteria, she says.

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