SAINSBURY'S is set to sell 'touch-free' chicken aimed at snowflake shoppers too scared to handle raw meat.

The supermarket is introducing plastic pouches, allowing squeamish cooks to drop the pre-cut meat straight into the pan.

3 Sainsbury's hope swapping traditional packing such as this for plastic pouches will help cooks too scared to touch raw meat Credit: Alamy

Experts at the store and in the poultry business noticed Millennials - those born after 1980 - were nervous about cooking and worried about catching food poisoning.

One shopper even admitted she sprayed her chicken with Dettol first before cooking it, according to a report in The Sunday Times.

Katherine Hall, product development manager for meat, fish and poultry at Sainsbury's, said: "Customers, particularly younger ones, are quite scared of touching raw meat. These bags allow people, especially those who are time-poor, to just 'rip and tip' the meat straight into the frying pan without touching it."

Ms Hall and experts from poultry suppliers have carried out some research into why an increasing number of customers seem to suffer anxiety about this part of cooking.

3 One customer told supermarket researchers they sprayed Dettol on their chicken before frying it Credit: Alamy

Millennials are known to be adventurous with the food they eat, but seem to be nervous about how to cook it.

She said much of the anxiety about raw chicken comes from a lack of education.

Ms Hall added: "A lot of younger people are eating out in restaurants but they are not preparing as much food in their home. If they are not used to it, they may think, 'Ugh! I'd prefer someone else to do it for me.'"

She put fears down to an increasing awareness of bacteria that can cause serious, sometimes lethal, food poisoning.

3 Data suggests there are concerns about handling raw meat Credit: Alamy

It is hoped the plastic pouches, known as 'doypacks' in the packaging industry, will be popular and encourage cooking.

Some 37 per cent of Millennials said they would prefer not to touch raw meat, compared to just a quarter of the wider population, a study found.

Data has already shown Roast-in-the-Bag chickens have been popular with shoppers which Ruth Mason, chief food chain adviser at the National Farmers' Union, said was because consumers didn't have to "touch a raw bird".

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She said: "We find it disconcerting that shoppers are so removed from their food that they have these concerns.

"But we are aware it is a growing trend - and a lot of the data suggests there are concerns about handling raw meat."

Sainsbury's chicken-in-a-pouch goes on sale on May 3.

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