For home cooks,
widespread techniques for judging doneness of chicken may not ensure that
pathogens are reduced to safe levels. Solveig Langsrud of the Norwegian
Institute of Food, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research and colleagues present
these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on April 29, 2020.
Chicken can harbor the
bacterial pathogens Salmonella and Campylobacter. High temperatures can kill
these microbes, but enough may survive to cause illness if meat is undercooked.
Recommendations for monitoring doneness vary widely, and the prevalence and safety
of methods commonly used by home cooks have been unclear.
To help clarify
consumers' chicken cooking practices, Lansgrud and colleagues surveyed 3,969
private households across five European countries (France, Norway, Portugal,
Romania, and the U.K.) on their personal chicken cooking practices. They also
interviewed and observed chicken cooking practices in 75 additional households
in the same countries.
The analysis indicated
that checking the inner color of chicken meat is a popular way to judge doneness,
used by half of households. Other common methods include examining meat texture
or juice color. However, the researchers also conducted laboratory experiments
to test various techniques for judging doneness, and these demonstrated that
color and texture are not reliable indicators of safety on their own: for
example, the inner color of chicken changes at a temperature too low to
sufficiently inactivate pathogens.
Food safety messages
often recommend use of thermometers to judge doneness, but the researchers
found that the surface of chicken meat may still harbor live pathogens after
the inside is cooked sufficiently. Furthermore, thermometers are not widely
used; only one of the 75 observed households employed one.
These findings suggest a
need for updated recommendations that guarantee safety while accounting for
consumers' habits and desire to avoid overcooked chicken. For now, the
researchers recommend focusing on the color and texture of the thickest part of
the meat, as well as ensuring that all surfaces reach sufficient temperatures.
"Consumers are often
advised to use a food thermometer or check that the juices run clear to make
sure that the chicken is cooked safely -- we were surprised to find that these
recommendations are not safe, not based on scientific evidence and rarely used
by consumers," adds Dr Langsrud. "Primarily, consumers should check
that all surfaces of the meat are cooked, as most bacteria are present on the
surface. Secondly, they should check the core. When the core meat is fibrous
and not glossy, it has reached a safe temperature.
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