Cook chicken properly to deal with antibiotic-resistant salmonella, says DOST-FNRI - GMA Network

Salmonella in chicken meat has become harder to eliminate with antibiotics, the Department of Science and Technology's Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) said.

According to a report by Oscar Oida on 24 Oras on Monday, the DOST-FNRI said that one way to get around this is to make sure that the chicken is well and properly cooked, and that the preparation area and utensils are clean. The containers where the raw chicken is kept must also be clean. Raw meat must also be kept separate from cooked meat.

The institute put out the recommendation in light of its findings that 94.7% of the salmonella isolates from retail chicken purchased in Metro Manila were resistant to at least one class of antibacterial agent. Meanwhile, 76.3% were multidrug-resistant, or resistant to three or more antibacterial agents.

This means if salmonella enters the body—in this case, from improperly or insufficiently cooked chicken—it could result in diarrhea, fever, or stomachache.

The World Health Organization defines salmonella as a bacteria that can cause salmonellosis, a food-borne disease "characterized by acute onset of fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea and sometimes vomiting." Salmonella is, in fact, one of the four key global causes of diarrheal diseases, the WHO said.

While most salmonellosis cases are mild, sometimes it can be life-threatening especially to children and old people, usually due to the dehydration that results. Like the DOST-FNRI, the WHO recommends several methods related to hygiene and the proper handling and preparing of food. — BM, GMA News

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