Food safety experts question labelling of packaged foods
One expert says it's easy to mistake uncooked meals for fully-cooked meals
Food safety experts are warning people to read the labels of prepared meals very carefully as some people are only reheating foods that are supposed to be fully cooked.
Karen Liljebjelke, a microbiologist at the University of Calgary, worries many people are getting sick with salmonella as a result.
"There's no labelling regulation that says these ready-to-eat, or partially-cooked foods, have to be labelled very obviously," she explained.
"So if someone makes the mistake of not reading the package and throwing something into the microwave just to heat it up rather than fully cook it, they're gonna expose themselves to any pathogens that might be there."
Melissa Nielsen, who has three young children, has made a habit of reading the fine print on food packages before cooking them.
"It's very concerning," Nielsen said. "Like I said, we've run into the problem. I don't want to get my kids sick."
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says products that contain raw meat that could be mistaken for "ready-to-eat" must indicate that they need to be cooked on the front label.
But CBC found a number of products in Calgary where that wasn't the case.