Health risks of frozen raw breaded chicken products: A local health unit perspective.

Raw chicken, including frozen raw breaded chicken products, has been implicated in 18 outbreaks of nontyphoidal salmonellae in Canada since 2017. The Canadian Food and Inspection Agency has since implemented industry requirements, from April 2019, aimed at reducing salmonellosis risks in frozen raw breaded chicken products prior to their distribution in the retail marketplace. This commentary explores key issues identified by a local public health unit during an investigation of two cases of salmonellosis that occurred within the context of a recent Canada-wide outbreak linked to frozen raw breaded chicken products. Consumer handling and preparation practices, product appearance and labelling issues were essential factors in the development of disease. From this front-line perspective, new industry requirements by the Canadian Food and Inspection Agency are analyzed for their potential to reduce salmonellosis risks in such chicken products, while also identifying additional measures that could be implemented to further reduce the risk of product associated outbreaks.