Barber Foods Recalls 1.7 Million Pounds of Chicken Products Contaminated with Salmonella!!!,,,,,Oh No, Not Another Company!!!

Here we go again. Barber Foods, ( a company I have never even heard of b4) is recalling 1.7 million pounds of contaminated chicken products. The culprit this time is Salmonella. Apparently there was a cluster of people falling ill in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and it turned out it was from frozen chicken products produced by Barber Foods. They also sell these chicken products under the names of Meijer and Sysco. The chicken is question is frozen chicken breasts on the bone and chicken Kiev. So check your freezers and get rid of this junk ASAP!!! In the Yahoo article, they state that some people are not cooking their chicken to an internal temperature of 165 OR they are cross contaminating their kitchens. The cross contamination occurs when they touch the chicken, like by putting it into a pan and then not washing their hands with soap and water. Or thawing the chicken on a plate, cooking it and then returning it to the same plate they used to thaw the chicken. WTF! Are you serious, that is JUST NASTY!!! I saw Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa do that on one of her shows one day. Pissed me off to no end!!! She was grilling spatchcock chickens, then she used the same heavy dish she marinated the chickens in, to hold them down while they cooked. Then when she flipped the chickens she layed that same nasty contaminated dish on top of the cooked chicken to hold it down.  If she had taken it and washed in between or wrapped it in foil, it would have been okay.

Anyway, this chicken is contaminated with salmonella enteritidis, which causes fevers, abdominal cramps and diarrhea. It usually causes the patient to be hospitalized. So it's a very nasty strain of salmonella. Older people, babies and people with compromised immune systems are especially vulnerable. Please people, wash your hands after you handle ALL raw meat. And don't go touching everything in your kitchen when you are handling raw meat. Remember, the meat is a DEAD animal and as soon as something dies, the contaminates in the air jump right on it. Freezing will not stop this strain of salmonella, it stops the bacteria from replicating, but does not kill it. So as soon as it starts to thaw, the bacteria starts to replicate. Like an explosion! Look out!!!

Food safety specialist Benjamin Chapman, PhD, an associate professor at North Carolina State University who has studied how people handle raw, frozen, stuffed, breaded chicken products, tells Yahoo Health that they’re especially risky when it comes to salmonella. 
Why? Because of the way they appear, people assume that they’re already cooked—and don’t cook them fully as a result. “We have a responsibility to tell people that they need to cook these products properly,” he says. “I don’t think we do a good job of it.” I think the best way to do a better job of not doing cross contamination, is to rinse your meat off in the sink, then place it onto a plate or platter to season it. Wash your hands thoroughly. Then use tongs to transfer the seasoned meat to the pan for cooking. That way, the only time you touch the meat is when you are rinsing it off and if you don't turn the water off after you rinse and wash your hands immediately, you will only touch the plunger on your soap dispenser. But wash that right away also. That's how I do it. NO cross contamination in my kitchen. hahahaha

There is a link in the Yahoo article to check the codes and products but unfortunately it is not working. Maybe you can do a search on line and find the correct products, if not, just err on the side of caution and return all of your Barber, Meijer, or Sysco chicken products to the store where you purchased them or just toss them into the trash and be done with it. Good Luck!!!