NCC President to New York Times: Chicken is safe

“Chicken producers take very seriously any illness attributed to the consumption of a poultry product,” said National Chicken Council President Mike Brown in a letter to the editor of the New York Times, published today.  “But passing a law or regulation to fight bacteria will not magically make it go away,” he added. The letter was in response to an October 16 editorial by Mark Bittman, “Should You Eat Chicken?” Brown explained that before an egg is even hatched, chicken producers rely upon the best science, microbiology and technology to reduce food-borne pathogens to meet and exceed Agriculture Department standards. These initiatives and tens of millions of dollars in food-safety research can be credited with the significant decrease in salmonella in chicken over the last several years. Read More