A 2023-report entitled “Survey of not-ready-to-eat breaded and stuffed chicken products for Salmonella documented laboratory examination of 487 samples of not-ready-to-eat breaded and stuffed chicken products.  Fifteen samples of the product were purchased each month from July 2022 through September 2022.  Of the samples examined by public health laboratories, 58 yielded Salmonella with an 11 percent recovery compared to 6 percent for the FSIS laboratory that used small samples for assay.  Of the 58 positive samples, 18 were Salmonella Enteritidis; 22, S. Infantis; 15, S. Kentucky and 3, S. Typhimurium.  There were differences in recovery rate among the six establishments preparing the stuffed chicken products and also differences attributed to the time of sampling. 

All the serotypes detected were associated with recent outbreaks of Salmonella and indicate the need for adequate cooking in compliance with label instructions.  In many cases, not-ready-to-eat stuffed chicken products including chicken Kiev and combination products with broccoli, cheese and ham are warmed by microwaving, allowing consumption of viable Salmonella.

Based on epidemiologic evidence and laboratory studies, FSIS intends to designate Salmonella as an adulterant in not-ready-to-eat stuffed raw chicken.  Since there is no absolute positive kill step other than irradiation, the industry will probably be obliged to market only fully cooked (165F) stuffed and breaded chicken products.