What do you think about the new information on NOT washing raw chicken before cooking?

Foodie14

Foodie14

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I have always washed raw chicken as part of meal preparation - this is what we were told was the right thing to do in the past. Now we're being told not to wash raw chicken before we cook it, and that it can lead to other nasty illness and food poisoning because of splashes and droplets that land on your worktops and other areas of the kitchen.

Here's an article I found in a UK newspaper:

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jun/16/do-not-wash-chicken-advises-fsa

I don't know what to think about this really. I can understand why this is dangerous, but I always clean up properly after I've cooked, and I don't make a huge splash when I rinse my chicken.

What do you think?
 
Sooo.. have you ever gotten a nasty illness or food poisoning because you washed your chicken? I doubt it.
When it comes to food nowadays everything will kill you instantly in the most horrific way possible. Washing a chicken is not healthy... just another one of those things.
 
I do not beleive this article. I have always washed my chicken before cooking it and nothing has happened to me. I still see cooks on the cooking channel still washing their chicken. If this was true then they would not be still washing it before they cook it. There is so much information that steady changes about food that is real crazy. I was raised to wash everything before cooking it and I will continue to do so.
 
LuckyGirl08 said:
I do not beleive this article. I have always washed my chicken before cooking it and nothing has happened to me. I still see cooks on the cooking channel still washing their chicken. If this was true then they would not be still washing it before they cook it. There is so much information that steady changes about food that is real crazy. I was raised to wash everything before cooking it and I will continue to do so.
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I totally agree. Not washing my chicken would put me off eating it I think. Unless you're swinging it around your kitchen before you cook it, or not cleaning your kitchen properly after preparing food, then I don't see what you have to worry about. I've been washing my chicken since I've been cooking it, and at no time have I ever been sick after eating it. I keep my kitchen spotless too.
 
I no longer eat chicken, but I remember watching a cooking show where the cook didn't wash the chicken. It was Rachel Ray's "30 Minute Meals." I did some research and discover that washing the chicken can help spread the salmonella. I stopped washing my chicken breast. The heat while cooking will kill anything. I also used a thermometer to make sure the internal temperature was correct.
 
It can help spread germs if they are on the meat already, but obviously not if your meat hasn't got the germs. That said why risk it? I mean, if you cook it the germs die and you're good to go, but if you wash it you spread it by splattering it everywhere etc and you're not good to go ha ha.

I've known about this for a while now, but I've only ever washed chicken if there was something wrong with it or some sort of residue of some kind. Or if it was unusually bloody or something cause a bone broke or what ever. Or if I drop it (clumsy person here ha ha). I think maybe it's a culture thing because my parents have never washed meat either. I know in America they wash eggs, and in Australia we don't...and there are studies on both sides of the fence saying the other is unsanitary but I like the not wash side - the eggs have a natural layer of resistance to bacteria and if you wash that off then bacteria can enter the eggs easier.

So really I think it boils down to where you live and how you were raised, but either way I wouldn't be too fazed about whether or not it's good or bad. If it works for you then it works for you.
 
Alunny said:
It can help spread germs if they are on the meat already, but obviously not if your meat hasn't got the germs. That said why risk it? I mean, if you cook it the germs die and you're good to go, but if you wash it you spread it by splattering it everywhere etc and you're not good to go ha ha.

I've known about this for a while now, but I've only ever washed chicken if there was something wrong with it or some sort of residue of some kind. Or if it was unusually bloody or something cause a bone broke or what ever. Or if I drop it (clumsy person here ha ha). I think maybe it's a culture thing because my parents have never washed meat either. I know in America they wash eggs, and in Australia we don't...and there are studies on both sides of the fence saying the other is unsanitary but I like the not wash side - the eggs have a natural layer of resistance to bacteria and if you wash that off then bacteria can enter the eggs easier.

So really I think it boils down to where you live and how you were raised, but either way I wouldn't be too fazed about whether or not it's good or bad. If it works for you then it works for you.
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I think you're right - the heat will kill just about everything, so why worry I suppose. That said, I do wonder what people do when they wash their chicken - do they stand in the middle of the kitchen and swing it around?? I'm confidant that the few splashes that occur when I wash my chicken are cleaned up thoroughly, and are not left to linger anywhere in my sink, on my counters, or on my chopping boards. That's what's puzzling me. :unsure:

On the subject of washing eggs - I saw someone on a YouTube video doing this and I couldn't believe my eyes! If you're that worried about eggs, should you really be eating them at all? And where are you buying them from to make you so scared of cracking and breaking them without washing them?? That's completely alien to me.
 
It causes spatter you don't realise. Believe me. I've washed a couple of things in the sink on low water, being very careful, only to look up and see there's left overs all down the side of the sink and on the tap and splashback. Washing things is not as clean as you think ha ha.

Actually in America they wash their eggs before putting them in a carton, and then refrigerate them. Eggs shouldn't be washed or refrigerated - it's bad on so many levels. The wash removes protective barriers and the fridge doesn't kill germs it kills good bacteria that keeps the germs off. So by the end of it you've made that poor egg defenceless.

One of my aunts works for the CDC in microbiology and she's studied eggs for 30 years. She swears she has never once found an egg with salmonella on it. I've never heard of getting salmonella from eggs either to be honest, not unless they've been cracked and processed into other foods if you know what I mean.
 
Foodie14 said:
I have always washed raw chicken as part of meal preparation - this is what we were told was the right thing to do in the past. Now we're being told not to wash raw chicken before we cook it, and that it can lead to other nasty illness and food poisoning because of splashes and droplets that land on your worktops and other areas of the kitchen.

Here's an article I found in a UK newspaper:

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jun/16/do-not-wash-chicken-advises-fsa

I don't know what to think about this really. I can understand why this is dangerous, but I always clean up properly after I've cooked, and I don't make a huge splash when I rinse my chicken.

What do you think?
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When I cook a roasting chicken I never wash it. I usually cut off all the pieces that we don't like and then throw it into the roasting pan. We are all healthy and the heat from the roasting pan in the oven will kill off any germs before you get to eat it.
Washing your chicken is probably a good idea only if you have a farm chicken that has just been plucked by you, other than that, there is no need.
 
For hygienic purposes, I don't support this method. Chicken skin oozes pus when you pull off its feathers and if you're not careful, this can give you warts and your skin will look as if it grew a volcano. My dad and my brother suffered warts for a number of years due to excessive "interaction" with our resident poultry. So imagine if you don't wash raw chicken before cooking it?
 
I have never heard of this before. We have always washed our chicken before cooking it, and this has been done from as long back as I can remember. It would feel very strange to me now to just cook the chicken without washing it. In fact, I wash all kinds of meat before cooking it. When it comes to eggs, once before I never used to wash these prior to breaking them into the pan, but there have been occasions when a bit of shell would fall into the pan with the egg when I break it. Recently I have started rinsing my eggs before cracking them, so that if any part of the shell fell on to the egg when I cracked it, no germs would be spread.

My sink and kitchen counters are usually cleaned off after washing the chicken, so I don't think there would be a problem with any germs lingering around from off of the chicken.
 
I have always washed raw chicken too - I prefer to rinse any excess juices off before I start to cut and prepare it. If I don't, I find the meat is often too slippery and difficult to work with. My sink is not adjacent to the preparation area though, so I will continue to wash my chicken and be extra vigilant of splashes.
 
I think they are arguing that it's the lesser of two evils - washing the chicken and cross contaminating more stuff vs. not washing the chicken an keeping any contamination in one spot. I don't think I would ever completely stop rinsing off my chicken when I get it home from the grocery store - especially when it's got that slimy juice in the package. However it is a call to be more conscious of how easily you can spread the chicken contaminants around your kitchen unintentionally even when you think you are being "clean" and doing the right thing by rinsing it off.

What would really help a bunch is installing a hands free faucet and soap dispenser. I hate trying to use my wrist or arm to get the water running because my hands are covered in raw chicken juices. Rubber gloves come in handy too, but I can never remember to pick up a box of those when I am at the store.
 
I deliberately did not read the link as I am simply here to say that no matter what is put out there I will always wash my meat. The day that science stops me from washing my meats is probably the day I'll stop eating meat altogether. Only yesterday I was having a discussion with some family members and we were talking about the backward and forward debates of what we should and should not eat. It's an interesting cycle to say the least.

Now I will read the link.:happy:
 
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This health warning was in a supermarket called waitrose today
Make your own mind up.....
 
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