(WWJ) Do you wash raw chicken before you cook it? If so, knock it off.
That's the message from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has been getting plenty of pushback from a tweet making that recommendation one week ago today.
Food safety experts says the concern is that washing can spread germs from the chicken to other food or utensils in the kitchen.
It's estimated that every year about a million people get sick from eating poultry contaminated with harmful germs. That's why. the CDC says, it’s important for you to take steps to protect your health and the health of your loved ones when it comes to chicken.
The CDC offers the following tips for shopping, cooking, and eating out to help prevent food poisoning linked to chicken:
- Place chicken in a disposable bag before putting in your shopping cart or refrigerator to prevent raw juices from getting onto other foods.
- Wash hands with warm soapy water for 20 seconds before and after handling chicken.
- Do not wash raw chicken. During washing, chicken juices can spread in the kitchen and contaminate other foods, utensils, and countertops.
- Use a separate cutting board for raw chicken.
- Never place cooked food or fresh produce on a plate, cutting board, or other surface that previously held raw chicken.
- Wash cutting boards, utensils, dishes, and countertops with hot soapy water after preparing chicken and before you prepare the next item.
- Use a food thermometer to make sure chicken is cooked to a safe internal temperature of 165°F.
- If cooking frozen raw chicken in a microwavable meal, handle it as you would fresh raw chicken. Follow cooking directions carefully to prevent food poisoning.
- If you think the chicken you are served at a restaurant or anywhere else is not fully cooked, send it back for more cooking.
- Refrigerate or freeze leftover chicken within 2 hours (or within 1 hour if the temperature outside is higher than 90°F).
If you still plan to bathe your poultry despite this advice, you won't be alone.
In response on an influx of surprised, defiant and outraged replies to the no-wash edict, the CDC commented: "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. You shouldn’t wash any poultry, meat, or eggs before cooking. They can all spread germs around your kitchen. Don’t wing food safety!"
Find more information on chicken and food poisoning from the CDC at this link.
