September marks the beginning of many things: back-to- school, fall, and football season. September is also the start of both National Chicken Month and National Food Safety Education Month.
As part of National Chicken Month, the National Chicken Council (NCC) invites you to keep watch for in-store promotions and online contests, recipes, fun facts, and more. The average American will consume about 103 pounds of chicken this year. NCC encourages people this month: “Don’t be average.”
September is also National Food Safety Education Month. NCC is a founding member of the Partnership for Food Safety Education (PFSE) who works to bring safe food handling and cooking practices to the forefront of consumers’ minds.
According to new research from the University of California, Davis, many consumers do not follow recommended food safety practices in preparing their own meals at home. Among the findings:
- Most participants, 65 percent, did not wash their hands before starting meal preparation and 38 percent did not wash their hands after touching raw chicken.
- Nearly 50 percent of participants were observed washing their chicken in the sink prior to preparation, a practice that is not recommended as it spreads bacteria over multiple kitchen surfaces.
- Forty percent of participants undercooked their chicken, regardless of preparation method and only 29 percent knew the correct USDA recommended temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Researchers observed that cooking thermometers were not widely used, with only 48 percent of participants owning one.
To learn about how chicken producers are working to improve food safety, click here. For safe handling and proper cooking tips, click here.
