Recipes for Determining Doneness in Poultry Do Not Provide Appropriate Information Based on US Government Guidelines

Abstract

Research has shown that consumers use unsafe food handling practices when preparing poultry, which can increase the risk of foodborne illness such as salmonellosis or campylobacteriosis. Recipes from cookbooks, magazines, and the internet commonly are used as sources for consumers to prepare food in homes and the expectation is that food will be safe when prepared. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), using a thermometer properly is the only way to accurately check for doneness of poultry. The objective of this study was to assess poultry recipes, including recipes for whole birds and poultry parts, to determine if food safety information concerning thermometer use was included within the recipe. Poultry recipes (n = 474) were collected from 217 cookbooks, 28 magazines, 59 websites, and seven blogs. Approximately 33.5% of the recipes contained a specific temperature for doneness, with 73% of those cooked to ≥165 °F/74 °C, as recommended by USDA. Ninety-four percent of recipes used cooking time and about half of the recipes used visual measurements, such as color or juices running clear, to determine doneness. This study showed that most recipes do not contain appropriate information to assure safe cooking of poultry by consumers. Modifying recipes by adding food safety information, such as thermometer use and proper temperatures, could increase the use of proper food preparation behaviors by consumers.