Chicken pot pies are yummy, cheesy, gooey – and drowning in fat and salt, which is why I don’t eat them any more. If you’re really unlucky, they’re drowning in Salmonella too – this was the case in 2007, when Banquet chicken pot pies sickened people and were later recalled.

Highlights from the recently released Centers for Disease Control Report about this outbreak:

• 401 confirmed cases of Salmonella serotype I 4,5,12:i:- were linked to Banquet chicken pot pies. (The term serotype refers to a way of classifying strains of bacteria, which I’ll go into in a future post.)
• Scientists estimated that for every reported case, 38 more cases went unreported.
• The pies were made with raw chicken paste and had to be thoroughly cooked during microwaving.
• Consumers were often confused by label directions on how to microwave the pies safely. Recommended cooking times were based on wattage - most consumers didn’t know what their microwave wattage was.
• After the outbreak was reported, Banquet changed the packaging label of its pot pies. For example, labels that said “Ready in 4 minutes” were changed to “Microwavable — Must be cooked thoroughly. See back for directions.”
• Consumers should follow cooking directions according to wattage. (However, I think you should use a meat thermometer just to be safe – make sure the internal temperature is at least 165 F (recommended poultry cooking temperature by the US Food Safety Inspection Service) .

CDC Report:

Multistate Outbreak of Salmonella Infections Associated with Frozen Pot Pies — United States, 2007

Image by rbatina used under a Creative Commons license. This is a picture of some of the affected chicken pies taken in 2007