In the United States, people consume chicken more than beef, pork, or turkey. When cooked, chicken can be a nutritious choice, but raw chicken can be contaminated with Campylobacter, Salmonella, or Clostridium perfringens germs.
If you eat undercooked chicken, you can get a foodborne illness, also called food poisoning. You can also get sick if you eat other foods or beverages that are contaminated by raw chicken or its juices.
CDC estimates that every year in the United States about 1 million people get sick from eating contaminated poultry.
If chicken is on your menu, follow these tips when shopping, cooking, and eating out to help prevent food poisoning:
At the store
In the refrigerator
Prepping chicken
While cooking
After eating
CDC estimates that Salmonella causes more foodborne illnesses than any other bacteria. Chicken is a major source of these illnesses. In fact, about 1 in every 25 packages of chicken at the grocery store are contaminated with Salmonella.
It is possible to reduce Salmonella contamination of chicken and the resulting illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths.
Learn about measures that have been shown to reduce Salmonella contamination of chicken.
Learn more tips to protect yourself and your loved ones from food poisoning.