Why do frozen, raw chicken products keep getting recalled for salmonella? Wouldn’t the solution be to cook the product properly? All raw chicken could contain salmonella.
In: Biology
Gram-negative bacteria such as salmonella produce toxic substances as part of their outer membrane. These substances are relatively resistant to heat and chemical attack, surviving both cooking and digestion, even when their parent cell dies.
This is not a problem for small bacterial loads, as each bacterium only produces a tiny amount of toxin, but large loads, repeated exposure or ingestion by people who are unfortunately susceptible can create bigger risks. Cooking doesn’t eliminate the risks, in fact bacterial cell death temporarily raises the concentration of these endotoxins, as the cell membranes that contain them are shredded, facilitating their release.
Latest Answers