The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service is issuing a public health alert to remind consumers to make sure that frozen meat and poultry products are fully cooked before they are consumed.
The warning comes after FSIS linked cases of salmonella infections in people to stuffed frozen chicken products sold in Minnesota and Michigan.
Many frozen entrees containing stuffed poultry products, such as a poultry product stuffed with cheese and other ingredients, typically are not-ready-to-eat and must be fully cooked as if they were raw. Because a microwave oven typically cooks product at non-uniform rates, it is important to ensure that the product is covered sufficiently for steam to build in the product, and that the product is set aside for a sufficient time for the heat to uniformly spread throughout the product at the completion of the microwave cycle. This will ensure that there are no "cold spots."
Also, using a food thermometer is the only sure way of knowing if your food has reached a high enough temperature to destroy foodborne bacteria.