Although there is no need to panic, there's no time like the present to revisit how poultry is handled in your establishment and retrain employees, if necessary.

Over the past several months, an illness that is carried by domesticated and wild birds in Asia and Europe has been grabbing headlines. This illness is, of course, Avian Influenza -aka, the bird flu -and our country is constantly being told how dangerous it could be if it were to spread to birds in the United States. While the potential spread of bird flu in the United States could have semi-catastrophic repercussions, it forces us to evaluate how the birds in our food supply are being handled, and how best to avoid contamination.

Companies such as KFC, Boston Market and Popeye’s rely heavily on the supply of domesticated birds to remain profitable, and if an epidemic or pandemic were to occur that would cut back or eliminate the consumption of chicken and turkey, companies such as these would be hit so hard they might not be able to recover.

This is why it’s important to stay on top of how these birds are being handled and make sure that the spread of any kind of contaminate does not occur at all.

I do not want to scare you into thinking that consuming chicken, duck, turkey, quail or any other kind of bird is currently dangerous. Instead, I want to get you thinking about how poultry is handled in your establishment, and decide whether you are doing everything in your power to eliminate contamination at every level in order to protect your customers.

The headlines and news stories are asking us to prepare for what a U.S. bird flu outbreak might encompass, so let’s use this warning to analyze how we are handling birds right now.

Playing Chicken
It’s no surprise that chicken is the No. 1 species of poultry consumed in the United States and so it makes sense that it’s also the species that leads to the greatest number of foodborne illness incidents. While almost everyone who has handled chicken understands that it needs to be fully cooked, many don’t understand why.

Salmonella is a well-known bacterium that can be found in the intestines of chicken and other fowl, and can be very dangerous if consumed. Symptoms of salmonella can include diarrhea, cramps, nausea and vomiting, and generally last for up to a week.

The only sure way to make sure salmonella is removed from chicken is to cook it thoroughly. It is recommended that chicken -or any poultry for that matter -be cooked to at least 165 F. This will not only kill salmonella, but also listeria, campolybacter, staphylococcus or any other contaminate that can occur in the animal or that humans can spread to the meat.

It is also recommended that the meat is refrigerated at all times, either cooked or raw, when not in use. The same procedures should be used for eggs, which will often be contaminated with salmonella after being passed by the hen to her offspring.

Although undercooked chicken remains a major concern, it’s not the only common way for food poisoning to occur in poultry. Oftentimes, incidents occur as a result of contamination of foods that come into contact with the juices from raw chicken and are served uncooked.

An example would be if a prep cook were to cut chicken breasts, then use the same knife to cut raw vegetables that were to be served in salads. Make no mistake, if the chicken was contaminated, it’s probable that the salads will make somebody sick.

Also, make sure your employees are mindful of where chicken is stored and that there is nothing below where the juices may drip.

Talkin’ Turkey
Most consumers are not aware that turkey meat actually has a greater chance of containing salmonella than chicken. In fact, the USDA conducted a test in 2001 that showed 13 percent of the 2,200 turkeys it examined contained salmonella, as opposed to 9 percent of chickens. This means that food handlers must be equally careful when handling turkey, if not more so.

Often, restaurants will add turkey to their menu around Thanksgiving, meaning that the line and prep cooks aren’t used to dealing with turkey meat on a daily or regular basis.

This can be a potential disaster if the turkey is even slightly undercooked, or the juices from raw turkey meat get into any other food product. Make sure your employees know that turkey is very dangerous if not handled correctly.

Duck, Duck, Goose
It sometimes confuses consumers when they see a medium-rare duck breast or quail on a restaurant’s menu, because they’ve been taught that all poultry can be contaminated with salmonella.

While this is in fact true, duck, geese and quail run a much lower risk of contamination than turkey or chicken. Another thing these birds have going for them is that they tend to be sold by smaller farms and producers that take greater care when raising and cleaning them. This is why the price of their meat tends to be a lot higher than turkey or chicken, and why high-end restaurants are the ones generally serving them. Nevertheless, it is still recommended that any poultry is cooked to 165 F.

What About Bird Flu?
Bird flu to date is frightening for both scientists and citizens because as a country, we don’t really know a lot of the specifics about the virus. Most of what is said regarding transmission and effects are at this point pure speculation. But we do know the virus cannot survive at temperatures at or above 158 F, so as long as poultry is thoroughly cooked, it poses no risk. Also, like salmonella, this virus is something that can be passed from a hen to her offspring, so eggs are also a potential risk.

This virus is constantly mutating, making it nearly impossible to come up with a vaccine at this point. Luckily for us, it hasn’t spread to the U.S. food supply, so there is no need for panic. Still, be sure to keep an eye on news stories regarding the bird flu because it may be something that will affect your business in the future.

Knowledge is Power
OK, so you understand how important it is to handle poultry safely and carefully, but how do you pass this message along to your employees? General food safety education is always a good first step because they will learn the importance of time and temperature, proper hand washing and everything else that goes into running a safe operation. It is also a good idea to hang reminders, such as posters and index cards, around the restaurant that display proper temperatures for cooked meat.

Also, quiz your employees regularly on proper handling and cooking procedures. Lastly, make sure you have separate cutting boards and utensils that are only to be used for poultry, ensuring that cross-contamination will not occur from those objects. Ensuring safe practices operations-wide can keep your operation serving safe food products, which is what your guests deserve.

Lee Biars is the director of industry relations for Safe Food Solutions. Reach him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or www.safefoodsolutions.com