Frozen Chicken Sickens 32 People in 12 States

Photo: Kelly Cline / Istock

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As if you need another reason to embrace slow food.

A frozen chicken dinner might look like it just needs to be heated through, but this week families got a reminder that in fact many frozen meals are not fully cooked.

The FDA announced that 32 people in 12 states were sickened with salmonella poisoning after eating precooked, frozen chicken dinners, according to the New York Times. The victims didn't follow the instructions that said to heat the meal in the oven, and instead used the microwave.

The article says the dishes included breaded or prebrowned chicken breasts, some sold as chicken Kiev and chicken cordon bleu. The dishes appeared cooked, but were raw or undercooked on the inside, and many of them indicated this on the label.

Minnesota is one of the affected states (the other 11 haven't been announced yet), and Carlota Medus, an epidemiologist with the Minnesota Department of Health, is quoted in the article: "The issue is that people think it’s cooked and it just needs to be heated up. Microwave cooking for something that has to be cooked isn’t always a good idea."

The USDA issued a public health alert reminding consumers to follow package instructions and to make sure poultry products reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

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