A Safer Method
Craven District Council 1 Belle Vue Square Broughton Road Skipton North Yorkshire BD23 1FJ 01756 706258 [email protected] www.cravendc.gov.uk
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This leaflet is produced by Environmental Health, Craven District Council. July 2013
What is the issue? What can I do to protect the
Unlike whole pieces of red meat such as steak, customer? where microbial contamination is restricted to the Sauté livers in small batches to allow for ef- external surfaces, chicken livers can be contami- fect9ive cooking nated with Campylobacter on both the inside tis- sues and the outer surfaces of the liver. Sauté livers for at least 5 minutes or until an in- ternal temperature of 75oC has been reached Campylobacter is an organism which can cause and maintained for 2-3 minutes food poisoning, and on poultry meats the levels of the organism are higher than on other meats, To Use a food thermometer to check the internal ensure that cooked chicken livers are safe for eat- temperature of the largest liver in the batch ing, appropriate controls are needed to reduce the Chicken livers should be cooked until they are no risk of infection, without tainting the quality of the longer cloudy in the core. Its recommended to product. cook the pate in a Bain Marie in the oven and ensure the temperature necessary is reached. What can go wrong? Colour is not a reliable indicator of effective cook- Outbreaks of campylobacteriosis have occurred as ing. Studies have shown that liver tissue can re- a result of restaurants serving undercooked chick- main pink after it has reached a safe tempera- en livers and chicken liver pate. ture. Examples of control breakdowns have included: Once cooked, cool for a short period of time (up Undercooking of livers, allowing bacteria to to one hour0, cover with cling film, then refriger- survive, There is a belief that livers will be- ate come dry and unpalatable if cooked too long Ensure juice from uncooked chicken livers does Poor separation, allowing cross contamina- not leak onto other foods. tion from raw livers to cooked product Scrub cutting boards, knives and other utensils Poor hygiene, allowing re-contamination of that have come in contact with raw livers using cooked product by bacteria from hands, hot water and detergent and allow them to dry knives and unclean surfaces. Preferably use4 a separate board and utensils for preparing poultry. How can I tell if product is contaminated? How long should I keep the Studies have shown that chicken livers are fre- pate for? quently naturally contaminated by Campylobacter For high risk food the recommended shelf life is on external surfaces and internal tissues. This the day of production + two days under refrigerat- contamination will not adversely affect the look or ed control (less than 8oC). If you hold food for smell of chicken livers. longer than this you must be able to demonstrate that this food is safe.