Why Washing Raw Chicken Before Cooking Can Be Dangerous For Your Health

Everyone washes the chicken well before cooking and rinses the meat with water to remove blood and fat from the meat. But do you know that washing chicken before cooking can be fatal? A report has been published in The Conversation that states that chicken should never be washed before cooking.

Earlier, when chickens were bought from the market, traces of feathers, slime, or dirt were seen on them, and washing the chickens was necessary. But according to a new study, nowadays, poultry is pre-washed and ready to cook when we buy it. But still, some people seem to think one should wash the chicken again for their satisfaction to remove the dangerous microorganisms from the raw meat.

Recent research suggests that while it’s true that chicken contains harmful microorganisms, washing before cooking doesn’t remove them. Chicken in general contains Salmonella and Campylobacter. These can cause very severe illnesses, with infections causing symptoms such as fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and possibly even septicaemia (blood infection). Children, elderly people, pregnant women and those with other health conditions or poor immune systems are most at risk of illness from these bacteria.

Hospitalisations and fatalities can result from Salmonella and Campylobacter infections even in healthy individuals. However, washing chicken before cooking does not eliminate all the germs within a chicken. It only removes the bacteria on the surface. This procedure increases the risk of infection from raw chicken considerably since it might allow bacteria that are cleaned off the chicken skin to travel around the kitchen.

Handling Raw Chicken Safely

Raw poultry frequently arrives in wrappers or containers that are infected with bacteria. After opening the container and taking out the chicken, dispose of the container immediately and put it in a clean plastic bag to prevent spills on the kitchen floor.

Next, put the raw poultry on a sanitised cutting board so that you can prepare it.

Since washing creates an unnecessary risk, if there’s dirt or slime on the surface of the chicken, one should simply wipe it off with a paper towel and immediately dispose it of.

After preparing the chicken, one should immediately wash their hands with soap and warm water.

Then one should wash the chopping board and utensils thoroughly.