Put down the chicken and step away from your sink! That’s right—washing chicken is a big no-no. We repeat: you are not supposed to wash raw chicken. If you’re feeling lied to, we totally understand. But believe it. It’ll help protect you and your family from potential food poisoning.
Just Say No To Chicken Baths
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 3,000 people die from foodborne Illnesses in the United States each year. Since raw chicken contains the bacteria that’s one of the most common causes of food poisoning, called campylobacter, common sense tells you to thoroughly rinse the chicken before you cook it. That’s actually the worst thing you could do.
These nasty cells are typically found on meat and poultry that has been contaminated during processing, usually with animal feces. (Yuck.) If your chicken has been contaminated and you splash water on it, bacteria will spread to everything the droplets touch—your hands hands, cooking tools, kitchen counters, and clothing. As NHS UK states, «water droplets can travel more than 50cm in every direction and only a few campylobacter cells are needed to cause food poisoning.»
