FSAI Warns of Salmonella Risk in Coated Poultry Products

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has issued an important reminder to food businesses about ensuring robust safety management systems for chilled and frozen coated poultry products on the Irish market.

This advisory follows a 2022 national microbiological survey that detected Salmonella Infantis in five out of 382 tested products, representing a contamination rate of 1.3%. The affected items included chicken goujons, fillets and balls - comprising raw, partially cooked and fully pre-cooked products.

Greg Dempsey, Chief Executive of FSAI, stressed the critical importance of food safety controls:

"The survey findings emphasise the importance of manufacturers and food businesses adhering to and fulfilling their legal food safety responsibilities. It is incumbent upon those sourcing and providing these products to have the requisite checks and balances in place to minimise the risk of contamination."

The FSAI is directing manufacturers to ensure products include appropriate cooking instructions and are clearly labelled as non-ready-to-eat. The authority highlighted that imported poultry was identified as a possible source of contamination, prompting calls for stringent controls across the entire food supply chain.

Consumers are advised to follow three key practices when preparing these products:

• Cook thoroughly until the internal temperature reaches 75°C or higher
• Practice good hygiene by washing hands and cleaning surfaces before and after handling raw poultry
• Store products at the appropriate temperature indicated on packaging

The survey was conducted between September and November 2022, with samples collected from retailers, wholesalers, distributors and caterers. The investigation was prompted by a previous multi-country outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis between 2018 and 2020, caused by frozen breaded poultry products across the European Union and United Kingdom.

Mr Dempsey added:

"Consumers have an important role to play and they need to follow the cooking instructions on the food label, wash their hands before and after handling these products and also store them at the correct temperature."