When we talk about safely preparing food at home, we often stress the importance of washing and cleaning as we go. With raw poultry, however, experts make an exception: They say never wash your chicken. That’s because chicken can be contaminated with pathogens, including salmonella which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says causes more foodborne illnesses than any other bacteria.
The CDC also notes that each year about 1 million Americans get sick from eating contaminated poultry. The risk is at its greatest when raw chicken is prepared for cooking, especially when people choose to wash it, says Meredith Carothers, food safety specialist for the USDA food Safety and Inspection Service. But that’s not the only time you should be careful.
Here are some essential food safety recommendations for handling chicken. Rinsing chicken is among the leading causes of cross-contamination, according to the USDA. Splashing water can spread bacteria by sending contaminated droplets onto sponges, sinks, faucets, counters and tools.
While the USDA has long recommended home cooks not wash raw poultry, many continue the practice. "We realized that we are losing an entire population when we say do not wash your chicken,” Carothers says. "This is a practice that likely won’t change for lots of people.
This is how they learned how to cook from their mothers, their grandparents. It’s seen as necessary by a large group of people.” So Carothers says the USDA now offers recom.