Marie Callender's Salmonella Case Highlights Poisoning in Frozen Food
Thirty people in 15 states have been confirmed as victims of the Marie Callender's Cheesy Chicken and Rice Salmonella Chester outbreak being investigated by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with state partners.
The number of people sickened by this outbreak is likely to grow and CDC said it is possible other frozen food products may be found to be contaminated. More information is expected this week.
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Frozen, not-ready-to-eat microwavable meals have been reported previously as vehicles in salmonellosis outbreaks. A common problem is that manufacturers don't pre-cook all ingredients and sometimes are sloppy in providing at-home cooking instructions on the package.
Law firm Pritzker Olsen has experience in these types of cases. If you are among those sickened in the Marie Callender's Salmonella recall and outbreak, contact us at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete the contact form on the right side of this Web page. We are a national leaders in foodborne illness litigation and have collected millions for victims of food poisoning.
Frozen Dinners and Salmonella
Marie Callender's frozen meals are made by ConAgra Foods. The same company was involved in the 2007 Salmonella outbreak linked to Banquet brand frozen pot pies. More than 400 people were sickened in the Banquet pot pie outbreak in 41 states. A third of the sick were hospitalized.
CDC noted in a followup study that the Banquet pot pie Salmonella outbreak highlighted the need to cook not-ready-to-eat frozen foods thoroughly. "These products should be clearly labeled as requiring complete cooking, and cooking instructions should be validated to account for variability in microwave wattage and common misconceptions among consumers regarding the nature of not-ready-to-eat foods,'' CDC wrote.
In the current Salmonella outbreak involving packages of Marie Callender's Cheesy Chicken & Rice, vegetables and some other ingredients were not cooked prior to packaging, but the chicken was. That's what ConAgra spokeswoman Teresa Paulsen told CIDRAP News.
For consumers, CDC recommends for food safety reasons that frozen dinners be cooked in convetional ovens for thorough and even cooking.
- If you choose to cook frozen dinners using a microwave, the health agency reminds consumers to cook the food for the time specified for your microwave's wattage. Let the food "stand" for the stated time so cooking can continue.
- The CDC also recommends use of a food thermometer to make sure that it is fully cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
