Chicken bacteria?
Did you see the news article Nov. 30 about the percentage of chickens contaminated with salmonella and camphylobacter? The jist of the report is that 60% of all chicken in the store is contaminated with it, which is a lower percentage than a few years ago. I don’t think this is really news or newsworthy. Salmonella and chicken have been synonomous for most of my lifetime and that is why we have been instructed by those who know that we should cook chicken products thorougly. Proper cooking will kill all the bad bacteria if it’s done right. We need to use some common sense in these matters. The government solution is to increase the inspection bureacracy. If chicken farmers are required to pay for all of that inspection overhead, it will drive more of the local producers out of business, especially the small ones. The net effect will be that more chicken will come from overseas (see my Chinese food blog) where we have no control over inspection or food quality. Let’s be smart, take control over our own food, and avoid the clammer for government solutions.