Originally Posted by
hannisen
There are other bacteria in chicken that will also cause food poisoning, besides salmonella where campylobacter is the main one. In Sweden there is little to no salmonella in chicken, but they still urge you to prepare it well.
It should be noted, however, that salmonella and campylobacter are closely related and the infected chicken is safe to eat undercooked or raw if it has been slaughtered in a way that prevents the campylobacter to spread from the intestines.
I didn't know that the salmonella found in chicken came from the gut. Thanks for the education!
addendum: Ok, I've just had a think about this and it makes no sense. If the offending bacteria came only from the gut, then it would only be present on the surface of any involved meat. If that were the case, chicken could be treated just like we treat lamb and beef- as long as the surface of the meat reaches a temperature that is sufficient to treat the offending bacteria, the interior temp would be irrelevant.
Either Salmonella & Campylobacter are present in the flesh of the chicken, rather than just the gut, or the FDA is providing guidelines that vastly exceed what is necessary. Interesting....