Chicken Anxiety: All That There Is to Know about the Fear of Undercooked Poultry

The chicken anxiety hashtag is trending on TitTok, and it has brought a host of confessions regarding some people’s fear about poultry being left undercooked. This latest TikTok trend, #chickenanxiety, is seeing a number of chefs coming to the forefront with their anxious admittance about poultry.

These are confessions about the fear they felt at the moment of eating chicken that they suspected might be undercooked. These viral confessions have amassed almost 23 million views and have people revealing the moments when they opted out of eating chicken because of this form of anxiety. For example, one TikTok user with the name @anysiaaa_ posted a video of herself where she is seen anxiously cooking the poultry meat.

In the clip, she seems to be repeatedly checking if all the pieces are thoroughly cooked. This 8-minute clip that she put on August 14, was captioned,

“You have chicken anxiety and the big pieces are extra sus.”

It had garnered more than 11,400 views on the portal, with almost 9000 comments. It was also at this moment that this user realized that there were others who suffered from this type of anxiety.

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What Is Chicken Anxiety?

Chicken anxiety (Image of @anysiaaa via TikTok)

The latest type of anxiety surrounding poultry food is chicken anxiety, which can be described as the fear of consuming undercooked chicken that might be contaminated with viruses and bacteria. Although any type of anxiety tends to exaggerate any situation to unrealistic levels inside the mind, the anxious cook in this case might have a valid reason to be scared.

Raw chicken can often be contaminated with dangerous strains such as Salmonella, Clostridium perfringens, and Campylobacter. This is reported by the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC).

The effects of these strains can be dangerous enough to make you severely ill with even one bite of undercooked food, with symptoms including nausea and diarrhea. It could even be fatal in some cases.

Another anxious TikToker with the handle name @chandlermarieking also expressed her fears on the portal sharing how she copes with chicken anxiety in a video clip that garnered over 21.1 million views.

She has spoken about her habit of having to cut and inspect every inch of the meat to ensure that it is thoroughly cooked thoroughly. She admits to the fact that the meat thermometer doesn’t assure her all that much.

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How to Get over Chicken Anxiety?

Anxiety about cooking chicken (Image of @chandlermarieking via TikTok)

Food-based anxiety can be really difficult to resolve, especially if the consumer has had a bad past experience with contaminated food. However, according to Brooklyn-based chef, Will Coleman, there are ways to check the chicken that is being served to you at the restaurant, for signs of rawness.

Chef Coleman suggests to the readers via the New York Post to carry a thermopen, which is a thermometer to check if the chicken is undercooked. This can potentially ease the anxiety surrounding possible undercooked meat at the table.

The CDC agrees with such a checking procedure as it confirms that chicken should only be considered fully cooked if the thermometer shows the temperature to be more than 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Coleman also recommends checking the color of the meat inside if it's grayish-white to verify it has been cooked all the way through. We should always send our dish of chicken back if there is even a single shred of doubt about it not being properly cooked.

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Chicken anxiety can be difficult to get over, but that does not mean one cannot enjoy a good plate of poultry. With the basic knowledge of cooking and the signs of undercooked meat, one can always be in a safe space about consuming well-cooked food.

All it needs is for one to be well-informed about the hazards of bringing in raw poultry and the know-how of handling it without spreading the contamination.