Do you need to wash chicken before cooking?
Answer
Many cooks out of habit try to thoroughly rinse a raw chicken carcass or individual pieces of poultry before cooking, however, modern sanitary standards strongly recommend abandoning this practice. Contrary to popular belief, washing poultry meat does not clean it of bacteria, but creates a serious safety hazard throughout the kitchen.
•It is strictly not recommended to wash raw chicken under running water, as splashes of invisible droplets scatter up to a meter away, spreading dangerous bacteria, such as Salmonella, onto kitchen surfaces, utensils, towels, and even nearby vegetables.
•Any pathogenic microorganisms that may be on the surface of raw poultry meat are guaranteed to be destroyed during the full thermal processing process when a sufficient temperature is reached inside the product.
•Instead of washing the chicken, pay maximum attention to personal hygiene: thoroughly and wash your hands with soap for a long time after each contact with raw meat, and also disinfect work surfaces and the sink after finishing work.
•Be sure to use separate cutting boards and knives for working with poultry, and during the cooking process, make sure that the chicken is baked or cooked completely, reaching a safe internal temperature of about 74 degrees Celsius.
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