Safety of Frozen Chicken - required display chiller temperature?
Most supermarkets cut up frozen chicken portions and display them in chillers for sale. From observations, most of these cut-up portions look thawed. Is this safe? What is the required temperature for chicken displayed in chillers?? I know for frozen ones in freezers, the temperature should be -18oC.
Please somebody clarify?? :helpplease:
Thanks in advance!
Most supermarkets cut up frozen chicken portions and display them in chillers for sale. From observations, most of these cut-up portions look thawed. Is this safe? What is the required temperature for chicken displayed in chillers?? I know for frozen ones in freezers, the temperature should be -18oC.
Please somebody clarify?? :helpplease:
Thanks in advance!
Dear RVueti,
I presume you mean raw chicken meat ?
It depends what you mean by "safe".
It is not unknown for retail, raw poultry meat, chilled or frozen, to be contaminated with bacteria such as Salmonella, Campylobacter etc. However the cooking instructions should render the final, consumable product safe to eat.
From memory only, the USFDA requires 4degC maximum, UK maybe 8degC although 5degC recommended.
Rgds / Charles.C
Not sure your assumption that they were previously frozen is necessarily correct!? If they have been previously frozen, they should be labelled as such.
Raw chicken at an EU Approved plant must be 4OC or below, including in transit, but once it gets to the retailer (in the UK anyway) then the 8OC maximum applies, with good practice <5OC, as Charles says.
Barrie
Not sure your assumption that they were previously frozen is necessarily correct!? If they have been previously frozen, they should be labelled as such.
Raw chicken at an EU Approved plant must be 4OC or below, including in transit, but once it gets to the retailer (in the UK anyway) then the 8OC maximum applies, with good practice <5OC, as Charles says.
Barrie
Dear Barrie,
Possible that Fiji is not quite same as UK. Perhaps RVueti could enlighten us ?
I seem to recall that the procedure of selling previously frozen seafood at the "Fresh Fish" table on ice was / is (?) notoriously popular throughout the world. Do you mean that in UK they now have to stick a little flag in it ?
Raw chicken at an EU Approved plant must be 4OC or below
Any link for this statement ? it sounds too good to be true. I hv always regard the USA as the microbiological supremo (except for cooked products of course :whistle: ) .
Rgds / Charles.C
In Canada, any meat the was previously frozen, cannot be thawed and sold as fresh.. It must be labelled previously frozen.