Officials work to prevent illness from Southern delicacy: chitlins

ATLANTA - Most of the time Yvonne Cooper spends in the kitchen on Thanksgiving won&#39;t be devoted to the turkey, but to a Southern holiday delicacy that takes hours to prepare correctly -- chitlins. <br> <br> Chitlins, also known as chitterlings, also known as pig intestines, require a painstaking cleaning process and 90 minutes in a pressure cooker to destroy harmful bacteria. And the process alone can be dangerous, as the bacteria can move from the cook&#39;s hands to utensils, rags or refrigerator handles. <br> <br> Cooper said, ``It&#39;s a lot of trouble. But I don&#39;t want anybody getting sick coming to my house for Thanksgiving.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Holiday chitlin cooking is a big concern to health officials because infants and young children can become sick when bacteria from raw chitlins are spread by contact. <br> <br> In 1999 and 2000, nearly 100 people in Georgia got sick from the bacteria, almost all of them young children in homes where chitlins were served. Kids in Virginia and Buffalo, New York, have also become ill in recent chitlin-related outbreaks. One person died in a 1995 outbreak in Buffalo. <br> <br> Doctor Stephanie Bialek, an epidemiologist with Georgia&#39;s Division of Public Health, said she doesn&#39;t think people realize that while chitlins are raw, bacteria can spread around the kitchen. <br> <br> The chitlin preparer can spread the bacteria yersinia enterocolitica by touching a child or handling a child&#39;s toy, food or drink. It can thrive in a refrigerator and has been found incubating in infant formula that parents prepared after cleaning chitlins. <br> <br> As an extra measure of caution, health officials recommend boiling the chitlins for at least five minutes before even beginning the cleaning process. But many chitlin lovers believe that could mess up traditional recipes.