New salmonella warning over microwaving raw frozen chicken entrees

This article, posted by USAToday.com, caught my attention because it focuses around a topic that involves the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This article discusses how there have been 34 cases this year, in at least 12 different states, dealing with salmonella food poisoning due to people eating undercooked chicken. The misconception is that consumers believe that breaded or pre-browned frozen chicken is cooked when it is actually raw.

"In March, the USDA issued a public health alert to remind consumers that the 'instructions on the package need to be followed for safety,'" spokeswoman Laura Reiser said.

Salmonella can cause anywhere from mild to serious food poisoning and in this case it has been found in the raw, or undercooked chicken. The best solution that has been devised to fix this problem is to electronically pasteurize the chicken, which would kill the salmonella while still leaving the chicken raw.

I personally picked this article because I am very conscious about the different foods I eat and how they are cooked. The article believes that people contracting the salmonella are younger, and perhaps are contracting it due to the fact that they are "in a hurry," and therefore do not read the cooking directions on the chicken.

Although I do feel that a bigger text stating: "WARNING: THIS MEAT IS RAW" is necessary to be placed on the package of chicken, I do not feel that the USDA is responsible for this situation because the salmonella outbreak is occurring due to people's ignorance.

I think if people took just one minute (if that) out of their day to read the cooking directions on the package of chicken the salmonella problem will decrease dramatically.