Protect yourself against rotten food

Before we waved goodbye to 2010, South Africa was rocked by what has been dubbed "The Rotten Chicken Scandal" (City Press, 2010). According to media reports, one of South Africa’s largest chicken suppliers, Supreme Poultry, had allegedly reworked raw chicken products that had passed their sell-by date. The public were horrified at the allegations that these potentially rotten chickens were being thawed, washed, injected with brine, re-branded and then resold with new expiry dates to wholesalers or spaza shop owners (City Press, 2010; Scholtz, 2010).

Attorney Charles Abrahams, who has previously challenged bread cartels for selling bread at inflated prices and using price fixing for this staple foods, has also called for an urgent investigation into Supreme Poultry’s activities because he says, “All these outlets, like spaza shops are located in townships. Do they imply that this is fit for consumption by these people?” (Scholtz, 2010).

Understandably most South Africans were shocked and scared by these goings on, while political parties had a field day denouncing this "Capitalist Plot". Blade Nzimande, the Leader of the SA Communist Party demanded that: “The department of health as well as the department of trade and industry must institute investigation into the matter. It is a criminal activity.” (World Poultry, 2010).

How does this affect the consumer?

Until the called-for investigations have taken their course and we are presented with the facts of this distressing matter and steps have been taken by the various government departments responsible for preventing such undesirable practices, we as consumers can only be vigilant to protect ourselves.

Here are a few tips to prevent exposure the food poisoning that could be caused by chicken products: 

• If at all possible, make it a rule to buy fresh chicken that has not yet been frozen, from a reputable supermarket
• In summer when temperatures soar far above 30^oC, it is a good idea to take a cold bag and some cold bricks along to the supermarket to transport raw and frozen meat, fish and other highly perishable foods to your home. Partial thawing of frozen foods during the long ride home can cause growth or microorganisms.
• Check the sell-by date and do not buy the product if the sell-by date has passed
• Take the fresh chicken home, immediately place it in a refrigerator and cook it thoroughly as soon as possible
• If you are not able to cook the chicken before or on the expiry date, freeze it by placing it as far down as possible in your freezer to expedite the freezing process
• If you cook the chicken, serve it as soon as possible
• If you need to store cooked chicken or any left-overs, place them in the coldest part of your fridge and do not store for longer than 2 days
• Cooked chicken which you do not plan to eat within 2 days after cooking, should also be frozen.
• Let the cooked chicken cool slightly until it is no longer steaming and place in the fridge preferably in small portions to enable it to cool down as fast as possible
• Do not store frozen fresh or cooked chicken and/or chicken dishes for longer than 3 months before using
• If possible, thaw frozen chicken and chicken products overnight in the fridge or if you are in a hurry, place the entire frozen chicken in its wrapping into a bowl of cold water until thawed
• Cook the thawed chicken as soon and as thoroughly as possible
• Once a chicken has been thawed and cooked, it can be frozen again (see above)
• NEVER refreeze a RAW chicken that has previously been frozen and thawed. Any microorganisms like Salmonella that may have contaminated the meat during thawing can multiply during the freezing process and cause ‘food poisoning’ which can vary from mild stomach upsets to serious vomiting and even fatalities, when the twice frozen raw chicken is eaten at a later stage.
• Always wash your hands before and after working with food.
• Wash all utensils used for food preparation throughly with a good quality liquid soap and very hot water and air dry. Using grubby tea towels to dry clean utensils can perpetuate the transfer of microorganisms.
• Use a separate cutting board to work with meat and fish. Cutting boards made of hard plastic or glass are preferable as they are less likely to harbour microorganisms than wooden boards.
• Pre-cook chicken before braaing. This will not only prevent the braaied chicken from burning, but will also ensure that the meat is thoroughly cooked through to the bone.
• If in doubt, throw out! This rule applies to all foods that look, smell or taste suspect. Rather discard dishes that set alarm bells ringing when you inspect them. 

Other concerns

While the prime concern right now, is to prevent the resale of food products, such as chicken, that should have been condemned and turn into bone meal, there are a number of other aspect that I view with concern. 

Lack of uniformity in labelling

Thanks to "The Rotten Chicken Scandal", I have become more vigilant when it comes to checking the labels of chicken, meat and fish products. Something that bothers me, is the lack of uniformity of expiry date labelling. In the past week, I have found different raw chickens in different supermarket marked with labels stating the following:

• Freeze by XXX
• Packed on XXX
• Sell-by XXX

This mixed set of messages regarding the freshness of chicken products can only cause confusion for consumers. According to the new SA Food Labelling Regulations all food products must be marked with a "sell by" date, which according to the Regulations means “the last date of offer for sale to the consumer after which there remains a reasonable storage period at home". (Gov Printer, 2010).

In the case of chicken, I would urge readers to reduce this "reasonable storage period" to 2 days or less as described above.

Water or brine content of frozen chicken

The new SA Food Labelling Regulations specify that the water content of foods must be declared on foods if they contain more than 5% added water. So far, I have not found a frozen chicken that is labelled to inform me that it contains added water or brine and what percentage of the product consists of water or brine. We were hoping that these new Regulations would come into force in March 2011, but it has been announced that the new Labelling Regulations will only come into effect after 24 months (2 years) or in March 2012.

Until these Regulations are finalised and enforced we shall, therefore, not be informed of the added water or brine content of foods such as frozen chicken and not be able to judge how much food and how much added water/brine we are purchasing. This is an area that is open to abuse and we can only hope that weight-boosting water or brine additions to frozen chicken products will be regulated sooner rather than later.

It is disquieting that some food manufacturers get involved with scandals like the "Rotten Chicken Scandal", because it detracts from the good name of our food manufacturing industry and harms the trust that the public have in the food products on offer in our country. Hopefully the powers that be will start to function this week after the prolonged Festive Season break and sort out the "Rotten Chicken Scandal" as soon as possible.

May you have a very happy, healthy, successful and prosperous New Year.  

- (Dr IV van Heerden, DietDoc, January 2011)
 

References:

(City Press (2010). SACP calls for probe into ‘rotten chicken’ scandal. City Press, 29 December 2010: http://www.citypress.co.za ; Government Printer (2010). Regulations relating to the labelling and advertising of foodstuffs. Foodstuffs, Cosmetics & Disinfectants Act 1972 (Act 54 of 1972). Gov. Gazette, No. R. 146, 1 March 2010;  Scholz, H (2010). Chicken scandal: new ‘rotten; wings claim. News24.com, 26 December 2010: http://www.news24.com; World Poultry (2010). South Africa facing recycled chicken scandal. World Poultry, 30 December 2010: http://www.worldpoultry.net/news/south-africa-facing-recycled-chicken-scandal-8323 )