The Department of Agriculture announced that 32 people in 12 different states have been sickened with salmonella poisoning after eating ready to eat frozen dinners. The consumers apparently did not correctly follow the cooking instructions and cooked the meal in the microwave rather than the recommended conventional oven. The agency is urging consumers to follow the cooking instructions given for precooked frozen chicken entrees.  

The USDA said that the dishes included breaded or pre browned chicken breasts and some of the dishes were stuffed with cheese or vegetables, while others were sold as ‘Chicken Kiev’ and “Chicken Cordon Bleu”. The appearance of the chicken led the consumers to believe it was precooked and they put it in the microwave instead of the oven even though the package stated that the product was uncooked.  

The agency said the heat was not enough to kill the salmonella and the people who got sick were the ones who did not follow the cooking instructions on the packet and microwaved the food. Poultry should be cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit or 74 degrees Celsius, said the agency and a food thermometer is also recommended.

The agency in a statement said, “Although many of these stuffed chicken entrees were labeled with instructions identifying the product was uncooked and did not include microwave instruction for preparation. Individuals who became ill did not follow the cooking instructions and reportedly used a microwave to prepare the product.”

Minnesota was identified as one of the states affected but the agency would not name the other 11 states. This isn’t Minnesota’s first brush with salmonella, last year 165 people were sickened by salmonella caused by Banquet pot pies and Minnesota was one of the 31 affected states.  

Carlota Medus, an epidemiologist with the Minnesota Department of Health, told the New York Times last year, “The issue is that people think it’s cooked and it just needs to be heated up. Microwave cooking for something that has to be cooked isn’t always a good idea.”

Common symptoms of salmonella include diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever within eight to 72 hours though there are cases where people could also experience chills, headache, nausea and vomiting lasting up to a week. Salmonella can be serious and even life threatening for people with weakened immune systems or infants and the elderly.