"Be Careful When Cooking Large Amounts of Samgyetang on Boknal... Risk of Food Poisoning"

MFDS Prevention Guidelines Notice

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on the 10th that, with the onset of the intense heat season and the increasing demand for health foods such as Samgyetang, caution is advised regarding food poisoning caused by Campylobacter jejuni.

Photo of Samgyetang.

According to the Ministry, Campylobacter is a bacterium commonly found in the intestines of poultry such as chickens and ducks, as well as wild birds, and it can easily be transferred to meat during the slaughtering process. The main symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, and fever. Over the past five years (2018?2022), a total of 88 cases of food poisoning caused by Campylobacter were reported, affecting 2,157 patients. Among these, 983 patients (34 cases) occurred in July alone, accounting for 46% of the total cases. The primary food sources causing Campylobacter outbreaks were meats such as chicken, followed by complex cooked foods and vegetables.

Campylobacter food poisoning often occurs when chicken is consumed without being fully cooked or when water used to wash chicken splashes onto other ingredients, causing cross-contamination. Especially in mass catering facilities, large quantities of ingredients are cooked at once in heating containers that may be too small, resulting in some ingredients not being thoroughly cooked inside, so extra caution is necessary.

How to handle raw chicken on the hottest days of summer.
[Photo by Ministry of Food and Drug Safety]

To prevent Campylobacter food poisoning in daily life, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety urges adherence to food poisoning prevention rules such as handwashing and separate storage. Before cooking, hands should be washed thoroughly with soap or hand sanitizer under running water for at least 30 seconds, and after handling raw chicken, hands must be washed again before touching other ingredients.

Also, care should be taken to prevent water used to wash raw chicken from splashing onto other ingredients or already cooked food and contaminating them. When storing in the refrigerator, it is advisable to place raw chicken in a sealed container and store it on the bottom shelf to prevent its blood from contaminating other foods. When preparing dishes like Samgyetang, to prevent cross-contamination by Campylobacter bacteria, vegetables should be trimmed and prepared before handling raw chicken, and cooking utensils such as knives and cutting boards should be used separately for meats, fish, vegetables, and fruits.

During cooking, food should be heated thoroughly to the core (center temperature of 75℃ for 1 minute) to ensure it is fully cooked. In mass catering facilities, containers large enough to fully submerge the ingredients should be selected to ensure even cooking throughout before serving.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.