Are free-range and organic chickens safer than factory-farmed birds?
No. People may assume that these labels mean “safer,” but a study last year in the Journal of Food Protection found that out of 14 lots of free-range chickens, 64% of samples tested positive for Salmonella, and in one lot 100% were contaminated. Other studies have yielded similar findings. A Dutch study found that dangerous bacteria were actually more prevalent in organic chickens than in others. In any case, for safety’s sake, you have to handle all poultry the same way. No matter what the label says or how much the product costs, all poultry can be contaminated by disease-causing bacteria. As USDA researchers stated in the Journal of Food Protection in 2005, “consumers should not assume that free-range or organic conditions will have anything to do with the Salmonella status of the chicken.” What is air-chilled chicken? All poultry meat must be cooled after slaughtering, usually in an icy chlorinated water bath. Air-chilling is another method: the birds are hung in a cold chamber for
