Never, Ever Wash Raw Chicken. Here's Why.

Never, Ever Wash Raw Chicken. Here's Why.
Jess Kapadia•

In totally logical news: by rinsing raw chicken before cooking it, you are in fact effectively distributing infection around your kitchen in the form of chickeny water droplets. According to the United Kingdom's Food Standards Agency, those droplets can travel up to three feet before landing on...well, what's within three feet of your kitchen?

The agency's website issued a PSA yesterday urging people to stop this rampant practice that essentially spreads plague:

"The call comes as new figures show that 44 percent of people always wash chicken before cooking it – a practice that can spread campylobacter bacteria onto hands, work surfaces, clothing and cooking equipment through the splashing of water droplets."

Also see: Watercress Is The Healthiest Vegetable? Carrot Is #26? Here's A Chart To Memorize.

Some cases of campylobacter result in potentially severe complications and even cause nerve damage, so take that authoritative British accent to heart and amend your food-prepping ways. Watch this terrifying video about what will happen if you insist on washing chicken like a crazy person. Remove your chicken from the package and keep it confined to one surface: a non-porous cutting board that can be cleaned thoroughly.

More from the food safety world on Food Republic:

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  • John Hodgman, Alton Brown Tackle Whether It's OK To Eat Moldy Food
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