Washing or rinsing chicken increases risk. Salmonella, Campylobacter and other harmful bacteria live on raw chicken. Washing or rinsing doesn't remove this risk, it worsens it by helping the bacteria spread. When you add water through washing or rinsing, you give these bacteria a way to travel throughout your kitchen.
When you rinse raw chicken, you effectively spread bacteria—namely salmonella and campylobacter, the two leading causes of bacterial foodborne illness—all over your sink, and those can infect your sponge and dirty your workspace. Put simply, if you wash raw chicken, you are cross-contaminating your kitchen.
Even when consumers think they are effectively cleaning after washing poultry, this study shows that bacteria can easily spread to other surfaces and foods. The best practice is not to wash poultry.”
“Although this seems to be a common step in preparation among home cooks and was recommended in the past, professional chefs do not typically rinse poultry,” he says.
It is not recommended to wash chicken meat before cooking. This recommendation has the endorsement of the Food Safety Information Council (FSIC). Washing is likely to splash raw meat juices and any bacteria in to the kitchen sink, bench top and utensils and washing will not remove all bacteria.
Raw chicken (and other poultry or meat) can be contaminated with bacteria that may cause foodborne illnesses such as campylobacter and salmonella, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Australian chickens are given a bath in chlorine during processing that knocks out most of the naturally occurring campylobacter and salmonella on the chicken skin – but not all the bugs. There is a lot of water used in processing and when packaged this water and some of the serum from the flesh leaches out.”
According to the USDA, you should not wash raw poultry or any other meat, because you may spread potential bacteria in the poultry juices to other foods, utensils, and surfaces. And in fact, washing it isn't even getting the bacteria off your chicken.
It is never a good idea to wash meats and poultry. Regardless of whether it takes place before cooking, freezing, or marinating, washing can lead to cross-contamination. Cross-contamination is when bacteria spread from the meat to other areas, such as the hands and kitchen surfaces.
"Washing can spread germs from the chicken to other food or utensils in the kitchen." We didn't mean to get you all hot about not washing your chicken! But it's true: kill germs by cooking chicken thoroughly, not washing it.
Food safety authorities and regulators around the world recommend you don't wash raw poultry before cooking. That's because washing chicken can splash dangerous bacteria around the kitchen. It's best just to thoroughly cook the chicken without washing it, so it is safe to eat.
Consumers should rinse their fresh fruits and vegetables with cold water, but not raw poultry, meat or eggs, according to the experts. For decades, the Department of Agriculture has been advising against washing raw poultry and meat.
Washing raw poultry in a diluted lemon juice or vinegar solution is an inefficient method for removing pathogens and results in pathogens both in the wash water and on the chicken, increasing the risk for cross contamination and potential foodborne illness.
Really, there isn't enough chlorine to change the taste or cause a smell. Most grocery store chicken has been chlorine rinsed. It tastes like chicken. The chlorine wash or dip is limited to 50ppm concentration.
Aldi becomes the latest supermarket to announce that it will not sell chlorinated chicken or hormone-treated beef. While this is great news, we're still calling on the government to protect food standards in the Trade Bill or Agriculture Bill. Tricia Brodie and 2,473 others like this.
Washing chicken, even with a slow stream of water, can cause dangerous germs to splash from the raw meat onto other surfaces. These germs can then get onto other foods, like lettuce, that will not be cooked to kill germs before eating.
Washing or rinsing chicken increases risk.
Salmonella, Campylobacter and other harmful bacteria live on raw chicken. Washing or rinsing doesn't remove this risk, it worsens it by helping the bacteria spread. When you add water through washing or rinsing, you give these bacteria a way to travel throughout your kitchen.
USDA research found that washing or rinsing meat or poultry increases the risk for cross-contamination in the kitchen, which can cause foodborne illness.
Natural way to tenderize
To ensure tender meat, Chinese cooks wash it thoroughly. The meat is tenderized as they rinse the meat and wring it out (via Milk Street).