CHICKEN is proving to be a favourite meat with people living in the Midlands as they eat it an average of 130 times a year.

According to a survey by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) roast chicken is the favourite chicken dinner people cook at home, while Indian chicken dishes and Mexican style chicken fajitas make up the top three.

When it comes to eating out 30 per cent of people in the Midlands opt for Indian style chicken and 40 per cent of takeaway orders are for Chinese chicken.

However the FSA says anyone cooking chicken needs to be particularly careful as undercooked or mishandled chicken leads to an estimated 280,000 people suffering food poisoning.

Nina Purcell, Director of the Food Standards Agency, commented: “As a country, we love chicken and eat it more than any other meat. However, there's one thing we don't love about it - it can carry one of the biggest causes of food poisoning in the UK.”

The FSA publicity campaign hopes to ensure the food poisoning figure is reduced by 100,000 a year.

“Even if you think you’re doing everything right in the kitchen, take a moment to remind yourself of the ‘chicken rules’ to continue keeping your family safe - and spread the word, not the germs,” she said.

The FSA is asking people to:

• Bag and store raw chicken separately from other food, covered and chilled on the bottom shelf of the fridge

• Don't wash raw chicken: it splashes germs

• Wash everything that’s come in contact with raw chicken properly in soap and hot water, from your hands to chopping boards and any utensils

• Check it's cooked properly, with no pink meat, steaming hot all the way through, and that the juices run clear