As part of its ongoing commitment to food safety education, West Coast poultry producer Foster Farms commissioned a study by Dr. Christine Bruhn (Center for Consumer Research at UC Davis) to look at how consumers actually prepare and handle chicken in their own kitchens. Despite reporting that they practiced safe food handling, the study found a surprising number home cooks had risky food safety practices in the areas of: storage, hand washing, handling and cooking. An infographic was developed to visually communicate these study results and provide important food safety tips to home cooks.

Foster Farms then partnered with the state departments of agriculture in California, Oregon and Washington; the California Poultry Federation and the Northwest Chicken Council; the Partnership for Food Safety Education and UC Davis to distribute the results and to generate awareness of the Chicken ABCs – Always Be Careful. The program received widespread media attention, including CNN and Los Angeles Times.