Consume Packaged Chicken Meat for Health

Prof. Dr. Nevzat Artik, Director of Ankara University Food Safety Institute, stated that the chicken purchased should be packaged. "Packaged foods are safe and suitable for health because they are produced in facilities documented and inspected by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry," he said.

Why Packaged?

Prof. Dr. Artik made statements about what to pay attention to when buying and consuming chicken meat: "You also need to pay attention to the expiration date on it. Packaged products are safe because they are produced in facilities licensed and inspected by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. Chicken and chicken products should reach consumers without breaking the cold chain and should be consumed within the periods specified on the label. Chicken meat should be consumed as soon as possible after purchase, or should be preserved without breaking the cold chain. If the product has thawed by the time you get home, it should be consumed without refreezing."

Do Not Wash Raw Chicken

Prof. Dr. Artik warned about washing hands after touching raw chicken: "The only thing that needs to be done before cooking chicken meat is to take it directly into the pot by preventing contact with kitchen counters and materials as much as possible. If raw chicken is washed before cooking, it increases the risk of food poisoning. When chicken meat is well cooked, all harmful microorganisms will be destroyed."

Prof. Dr. Artik stated that washing chicken before cooking will not kill harmful microorganisms: "There is no need to wash chicken meat. Chicken naturally has a high microbial load. When we wash chicken before cooking, not only do we fail to reduce the microbial load, but these microorganisms that splash onto the sink, faucet, counter surfaces, and even our hands can also cause cross-contamination. Afterwards, these surfaces must be disinfected and hands must be washed by rubbing with liquid soap for at least 20 seconds."

Cook Thoroughly

Prof. Dr. Artik drew attention to cooking all of the chicken meat completely: "Especially, care should be taken that no bloody or red areas remain in the hardest-to-cook inner parts of the meat. To completely cook chicken and other meat products, it is recommended that their internal temperatures be cooked at 72 degrees or higher."

High Quality Protein

Prof. Dr. Artik stated that 20 grams of protein is obtained when 100 grams of chicken is consumed daily: "Chicken protein is extremely high quality. That is, both its digestibility is high and it is beneficial in terms of the distribution of essential amino acids it contains. In other words, consuming 100 grams of chicken meat per day means meeting 67-83% of the daily protein requirement."