Jennifer Quinlan, food safety researcher at Drexel University, is on a mission to educate Americans about the danger of washing raw chicken before cooking it. According to Quinlan, washing raw chicken increases the chances of spreading food borne pathogens. Washing raw chicken spreads pathogens on the chicken to the rest of the kitchen. Salmonella and campylobacter are commonly found on raw chicken and together they are estimated to cause about 1.9 million cases of food borne illness in the U.S. annually. Studies suggest that bacteria can be spread 3 feet away from where meat is being rinsed. To illustrate this, Drexel University's Don't Wash Your Chicken website features the animation: ”Germ Vision” The animation shows a chicken being rinsed and shows the resulting splatters/germs in the sink, kitchen surfaces around the sink , and on the hands, arms, and apron of the person washing the chicken.
Quinlan works on getting the word out to the public with a public health campaign she created with collaborators at New Mexico State University’s Department of Media Productions. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has advised against the practice of washing raw chicken for years. Quinlan has conducted focus groups as part of a study funded by USDA and has found that despite USDA’s advice, as many as 90 percent of people still wash their chickens. She mentions that the practice is slightly more common in minorities, but states: “pretty much everyone does it.” Some wash their chicken, because that’s what they were taught to do, and others believe that their chicken is slimy, but Quinlan points out that something is wrong, if your chicken is so slimy that it needs washing.
Quinlan points out that unwanted bacteria is killed by cooking the chicken to a temperature of 165 Fahrenheit, and she suggests using a thermometer to ensure proper cooking temperature. She also suggests keeping cooking surfaces and utensils clean.
Quinlan’s public health campaign is up against celebrity TV chefs and cookbooks still in circulation that continue to advise washing raw chicken as a first step in chicken preparation. She says that there is no scientific reason to think that washing chicken makes it safer. The Science actually encourages you to be lazy and skip the chicken washing for health.
Don't wash your chicken or any other raw meat before preparing it. Spread the word!
References
NPR.org,. (2013). Julia Child Was Wrong: Don't Wash Your Raw Chicken, Folks. Retrieved 10 March 2015, from http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/08/27/213578553/julia-child-was-wrong-don-t-wash-your-raw-chicken-folks
Quinlan works on getting the word out to the public with a public health campaign she created with collaborators at New Mexico State University’s Department of Media Productions. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has advised against the practice of washing raw chicken for years. Quinlan has conducted focus groups as part of a study funded by USDA and has found that despite USDA’s advice, as many as 90 percent of people still wash their chickens. She mentions that the practice is slightly more common in minorities, but states: “pretty much everyone does it.” Some wash their chicken, because that’s what they were taught to do, and others believe that their chicken is slimy, but Quinlan points out that something is wrong, if your chicken is so slimy that it needs washing.
Quinlan points out that unwanted bacteria is killed by cooking the chicken to a temperature of 165 Fahrenheit, and she suggests using a thermometer to ensure proper cooking temperature. She also suggests keeping cooking surfaces and utensils clean.
Quinlan’s public health campaign is up against celebrity TV chefs and cookbooks still in circulation that continue to advise washing raw chicken as a first step in chicken preparation. She says that there is no scientific reason to think that washing chicken makes it safer. The Science actually encourages you to be lazy and skip the chicken washing for health.
Don't wash your chicken or any other raw meat before preparing it. Spread the word!
References
NPR.org,. (2013). Julia Child Was Wrong: Don't Wash Your Raw Chicken, Folks. Retrieved 10 March 2015, from http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/08/27/213578553/julia-child-was-wrong-don-t-wash-your-raw-chicken-folks
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