The poultry industry is under the microscope after a multi state outbreak of Salmonella. A variety of chicken products from fifty-eight facilities have been found to be contaminated with Salmonella. Ninety-two people have gotten sick in twenty-nine states and twenty-one people ended up in the hospital.

"So this seems to be a wider problem in the industry," says Colin Basler with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC has notified the poultry industry and is asking them to comes up with better way to prevent contamination in the future.

The CDC at this time is not recommending that consumers avoid eating chicken but instead make sure all poultry is thoroughly cooked.

“We want to make sure people are being careful when they handle raw chicken  and making sure that people are cooking their raw chicken at the correct temperature,” says Basler.

“The outbreak strain of salmonella infantis is present in live chickens and in many types of raw chicken products, indicating it might be widespread in the chicken industry.”

He says to make matters worse, “Antibiotic resistance testing conducted by CDC on salmonella bacteria isolated from ill people shows that the outbreak strain is resistant to multiple antibiotics.”

CDC advises consumers to follow these steps to help prevent Salmonella infection from raw chicken:

Wash your hands. Salmonella infections can spread from one person to another if hands have Salmonella germs on them. Wash hands before and after preparing or eating food, after contact with animals, and after using the restroom or changing diapers.

Cook raw chicken thoroughly to kill harmful germs. Chicken breasts, whole chickens, and ground poultry, including chicken burgers and chicken sausage, should always be cooked to an internal temperature of 165°F to kill harmful germs. Leftovers should be reheated to 165°F. Use a food thermometer to check, and place it in the thickest part of the food.

Don’t spread germs from raw chicken around food preparation areas. Washing raw poultry before cooking is not recommended. Germs in raw chicken can spread to other foods and kitchen surfaces.

Thoroughly wash hands, counters, cutting boards, and utensils with warm, soapy water after they touch raw chicken. Use a separate cutting board for raw chicken and other raw meats if possible.

CDC does not recommend feeding raw diets to pets. Germs like Salmonella in raw pet food can make your pets sick. Your family also can get sick by handling the raw food or by taking care of your pet.