Like most good daughters, I try to follow my mother’s
advice, at least in the kitchen. She taught me to wash my hands, keep my hair
pulled back, and keep my cooking surfaces clean. Oh, and she taught me to wash
raw chicken really well, which meant lots of water splashing hither and yon.
The purpose was to get rid of bacteria that might make the entire family sick.
Shockingly, she and her mother before her were wrong about the chicken.
Unwashed raw chicken is actually safer than its seemingly cleaner counterpart,
which, despite common household practice, is something the health industry has
known for decades.
As Maria Godoy on NPR.org pointed out, washing raw chicken
raises the risk of spreading bacteria throughout your kitchen, meaning you are
more likely to poison your family by cooking a clean bird. Just picture how
much water ends up splashing off your chicken and where that water goes. It’s
on the counter, the stove, your hands, and maybe even dishes that are nearby.
If you were trying to spread around bacteria, you couldn’t do a better job.
Dr. Jennifer Quinlan, PhD, started a mini cluck fest when
she posted a video called, appropriately enough,”Don’t Wash Your Chicken,”
which spelled out the dangers of bathing your bird. As she explained, your
chicken is likely to have either Salmonella or Campylobacter on it and washing
just spreads these nasty bacteria around. Since these two villains are
responsible for most of the food carried illnesses we get, washing your chicken
sets up your family for some serious sickness.
The way to stay safe, according to foodsafety.gov, is to
cook your poultry to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. That is all it
takes. Remember that using a food thermometer is your best bet when you want to
be certain your meat has been properly cooked. Once your chicken has reached
this internal temperature, Salmonella and Campylobacter are dead and cannot
hurt you anymore. Your meat is then actually clean.
Stopping the practice of bathing your chicken may be a bit
of a struggle, but fight the urge and keep your family healthy. My mother
thought she was keeping me safe by having me lustily bathe our dinner, but she
was mistaken. Remember, cook it: don’t clean it. You’ll keep the nasty bacteria
off of your kitchen surfaces and out of your family’s intestinal system, which
is what any good cook wants.
You should seek medical advice if you have any of the
following signs or symptoms
- Vomiting that lasts more than two days.
- You are unable to keep liquids down for more than a day.
- Diarrhoea that lasts for more than three days.
- Blood in your vomit.
- Blood in your stools.
- Seizures (fits).
- Changes in your mental state, such as confusion.
- Double vision.
- Slurred speech.
- Signs of severe dehydration, such as a dry mouth, sunken eyes, and an inability to pass urine, or passing small amounts of dark, strong-smelling urine.
Always contact your GP if you get food poisoning during
pregnancy. Extra precautions may be needed.
