That's all great and grand for dealing with salmonella poisoning, in theory. There are other food poisonings associated with undercooked poultry. What about clostridium perfringens, staphylococcal intoxication, and campylobacteriosis?
28 years was hyperbole. I'm glad you guys haven't gotten sick, but its certainly not smart to promote that [likely] undercooked stuffing is ok. There are reasons for food guidelines, and if you don't follow said guidelines you run the risk of getting yourself sick and everyone one you serve sick.
Yes, there are other food poisonings possible besides salmonella, but salmonella is one of the most common and is the major concern for poultry. Clostridium perfringens, staphylococcal intoxication are both somewhat rare. Campylobacteriosis occurs on the surface and not within the meat and also occurs in cattle. You might as well throw E. coli and botulism in there too while you're at it. Since botulism can survive at temperatures above 230*, no food can truly be considered safe, at least food that we would consider edible, and we might as well shut down this website for promoting unsafe food. The point is the most common concern with poultry in the US is salmonella. While approximately 1 in 10,000 live chickens contain salmonella, approximately 1 in 3 chickens you purchase are contaminated. This is due to cross-contamination when they are cleaned and processed. Salmonella is common and serious.I certainly did not promote undercooking, but simply posted the USDA guidelines, not my own guidelines, but those of the USDA.
I agree "If you cook your turkey so the (stuffing) center is 145* and hold it there for 12 minutes" that it will be safe. The problem is, how many cooks would check that? If one is willing to do this and cook the stuffing further if needed, fine.
Having been hospitalized for acute food poisoning, leading to near kidney failure, the source never found, taking a known risk just is not worth it.
I'm very sorry you suffered food poisoning. It is not a pleasant thing. I got a bad case of food poisoning once from eating a salad at a restaurant. I was sick for a week and lost over 10 pounds. Again, I did not promote undercooking the chicken/turkey/stuffing. I simply posted the USDA guidelines. If you don't have a thermometer to measure the temperature, don't blame me, gheesh. If you look at these guidelines, they are not difficult to achieve. Most people I know cook their turkey to at least 165*. While I don't have data, I would be surprised if there is >20* difference between the middle of the stuffing and the meat of the bird. Since I am not cooking turkey, someone, please take some measurements of this and send them to me or post. I would really like to know the temperature difference. I suggested that probably most cases of food poisoning is caused by cross-contamination, like the salad I ate. By that I mean not properly washing cutting boards, knives, etc. I am paranoid about this. Everything that touches raw poultry is kept and washed separately and sterilized. I cannot emphasize this enough and I witnessed numerous times where cooks cross-contaminated things.
Oh, and for the record, I much prefer prime rib for Thanksgiving, cooked medium rare. Yeah, I know it's dangerous that way, but I'll risk it. :becky:
