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Don't Wash Your Chicken

EnolaGaia

EnolaGaia

I knew the job was dangerous when I took it ...
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This news item reports a study demonstrating how washing raw chicken before cooking increases - rather than decreases - the risk of microbial food poisoning.
Experts Are Warning People Not to Wash Their Chicken. Here's Why It's So Dangerous

Slimy raw chicken collects who-knows-what in its goo during its journey into our kitchens. So it makes sense to give it a rinse before cooking, right? Wrong.

A new report from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and North Carolina State University backs what researchers have known for a while now - washing raw chicken meat increases your risk of food poisoning.

Raw chicken is often contaminated by dangerous bacteria such as Salmonella, Campylobacter and Clostridium perfringens. Foodborne illnesses, like those caused by these pesky microbes, strike one in six Americans every year according to the CDC.

But giving raw chicken a rinse doesn't eliminate these pathogens - that's what cooking is for. Washing the chicken just allows these dangerous microorganisms to spread, potentially by hitching a watery ride through spray, sponge or utensil.

"Even when consumers think they are effectively cleaning after washing poultry, this study shows that bacteria can easily spread to other surfaces and foods," explained USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety Mindy Brashears.

Researchers recruited 300 participants to prepare a meal involving chicken thighs and salad, dividing them into two groups. ...
Click to expand...

FULL STORY: https://www.sciencealert.com/here-s-why-washing-raw-chicken-is-dangerous
 
I thought this was widely known. Many years ago, I did spread the word to relatives who had the rinse habit, especially with regard to the Christmas turkey.

I don't know where they learned to do it! Certainly, my mother never rinsed the chickens she bought from the butcher, in those long-ago days when chicken was a treat.

The habit must have been a response to reports of the infections the rinse was meant to defeat. :doh:
 
I've never rinsed them either, straight in the oven after being covered by foil, i tend to cook mine in water as opposed to lard
 
Washing a chicken never did me any harm. Probably because the chicken was cooked shortly after.
Let's all wash our chicken with chlorine!!!
 
We only rinse if there's bone fragments.
 
The directions on the turkey tell you to wash it (maybe they should fix that, then). I wash my chicken pieces because they are in some weird liquid inside the plastic. One might also wash if they were in some brine or marinade. The liquid will escape, even if you pat it dry with paper towels. The only good thing to do is be diligent about cleaning all surfaces afterward.

What are the odds of getting salmonella these days? [[just wondering]]
 
Has anybody checked why we aren't supposed to wash chicken before cooking it? Campylobacteria is normally found in the gut of the chook, a normal bacteria for the GIT of avian species

This is the main bacteria that we are not supposed to wash from chicken carcasses. i don't wash chicken - i usually pat dry then blitz the chook with a pre-warmed oven.

What they warn about is spreading this campylobacteria by splashing the water about, and also, eating underdone chicken...so, remember those Christmas chooks and Turkeys that were overcooked and were dryer than a dingo's crotch?

That's the way to do it, it seems.
 
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