Although washing raw chicken seems to be logical step for preparing lunch, experts claim otherwise. It is known that raw chicken contains bacteria that can be harmful to us. Because of that, everybody are extra careful and rinse the chicken off before cooking it.
The Food Standards Agency explains that washing your chicken may contribute to the spread of these harmful bacteria rather than the disinfection of them.
Here is a breakdown of why washing raw chicken can be harmful to your health and how you can still enjoy chicken while avoiding all of those nasty bacteria.
Why you Shouldn’t Wash Raw Chicken
Raw chicken is full of bacteria that can cause serious illnesses. Two of most common causes of food poisoning in North America come from two different types of bacteria: salmonella and campylobacter.
Salmonella is a group of bacteria that is usually is found in the intestines of birds. When human eat food that is contaminated with salmonella, develop symptoms such as diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps, nausea and vomiting. Most people who become sick from salmonella exposure recover after a few days, however some people develop more serious illnesses and sometimes die due to them. An example of one of these illnesses is septicaemia, otherwise known as blood poisoning.According to statistical data, campylobacter is the leading cause of diarrheal illness in the United States. This bacteria retains in human body up to 10 days and causes extreme abdominal pain. Certain long term effects from exposure to campylobacter have also been reported. These include arthritis and the development of a rare disease called Guillan-Barre syndrome. Guillan-Barre syndrome causes muscle weakness and affects the nervous system, and roughly 40% of Guillan-Barre syndrome cases in the United States are attributed to exposure to campylobacter.
Food Standards Agency claims that campylobacter cannot be “cleansed” through the use of water. Actually, washing uncooked chicken that contains this bacteria can majorly contribute to it’s spread through water particles. This means that if you wash an infected piece of chicken, you not only have to worry about the area that your chicken comes in contact with but also the area that the water you used comes in contact with. This can lead to your kitchen becoming a minefield of harmful bacteria.
How to Avoid Food Poisoning?
The Food Standards Agency explains that the best way to ensure that all of the harmful bacteria in your chicken is killed off is to cook it as thoroughly as possible.
Make sure the chicken is steaming hot all the way through before you serve it. Cut in to the thickest part of the meat and check that it is steaming hot with no pink meat and make sure that all of the juices run clear.
Last, but not least, you should store your chicken at a temperature below 4 degrees Celsius, as storing it at a higher temperature can allow the chicken to become a breeding ground for bacteria.
