This is the right way to poison!

It turns out that 90% of people wash raw chicken before cooking. We tell why this should not be done.

Raw chicken contains harmful bacteria, in particular Campylobacter and Salmonella, the two main culprits of food poisoning. Therefore, washing chicken before cooking is quite logical, right?

But no.

Washing raw chicken before cooking promotes the spread of harmful bacteria over the entire surface of the meat, as well as the sink or table.

Jennifer Quinlan of Drexel University participated in a study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Quinlan says that according to surveys, 90% of people wash raw poultry, and in many recipes it says: “rinse and dry.” She explains:

“It does not eliminate bacteria and does not kill them. But there is a risk of spraying bacteria - this is called aerosolization. "

The United States Department of Agriculture recently launched the Family Food Security Campaign, based on the following messages:

Keep clean. Wash your hands and surfaces as often as possible.

Separate. Do not let the raw bird and its juices come into contact with other products.

Cook thoroughly. The minimum internal temperature of the finished poultry should be 74 ° C (measure with a kitchen thermometer).

Chill. Place the bird in the refrigerator in a timely manner.

Drexel University also launched a similar Do Not Wash Chickens campaign. The goal of the project is to wean people from this bad habit.

Eating food contaminated with the aforementioned bacterial strains can lead to severe poisoning - and this is not the worst option.

When eating salmonella-infected foods, a person develops symptoms such as diarrhea, fever, cramps in the abdomen, nausea and vomiting.

Most salmonella poisoning disappears in a couple of days, but sometimes there are complications that can be fatal.

Campylobacter in food also causes diarrhea. But these bacteria can disable a person for as long as 10 days and cause severe pain in the abdomen. Campylobacter infection can also have long-term health effects: muscle weakness, nervous system damage, arthritis, and Guillain-Barré syndrome.

According to Quinlan, washing raw chicken is not worth the risk.

“Some people think that they wash off microbes. Others just want to wash away the mucus, or they think the chicken is dirty. There are many reasons, up to the machine reflex: “Raw must be washed”. ”

Finally - one more piece of advice: ready-made chicken should be stored in a closed container in the refrigerator; at room temperature there is always a risk of infection.

It turns out that 90% of people wash raw chicken before cooking. We tell why this should not be done.

Raw chicken contains harmful bacteria, in particular, campylobacter  and salmonella  - The two main culprits of food poisoning. Therefore, washing chicken before cooking is quite logical, right?

But no.

Washing raw chicken before cooking promotes the spread of harmful bacteria over the entire surface of the meat, as well as the sink or table.

Jennifer Quinlan of Drexel University participated in a study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Quinlan says that, according to polls, 90% of people wash raw birds, and in many recipes it says so: "rinse and dry." She explains:

“It does not eliminate bacteria and does not kill them. But there is a risk of spraying bacteria - this is called aerosolization. "

The United States Department of Agriculture recently launched the Family Food Security Campaign, based on the following messages:

• Keep clean.  Wash your hands and surfaces as often as possible.
• Separate.  Do not let the raw bird and its juices come into contact with other products.
• Cook thoroughly.  The minimum internal temperature of the finished poultry should be 74 ° C (measure with a kitchen thermometer).
• Chill.  Place the bird in the refrigerator in a timely manner.

Drexel University also launched a similar Do Not Wash Chickens campaign. The goal of the project is to wean people from this bad habit, which is welcome.

Eating food contaminated with the aforementioned bacterial strains can lead to severe poisoning - and this is not the worst option.

When eating salmonella-infected foods, a person develops symptoms such as diarrhea, fever, cramps in the abdomen, nausea and vomiting.

Most salmonella poisoning disappears in a couple of days, but sometimes there are complications that can be fatal.

Campylobacter in food also causes diarrhea. But these bacteria can disable a person for as long as 10 days and cause severe pain in the abdomen. Campylobacter infection can also have long-term health effects: muscle weakness, nervous system damage, arthritis, and Guillain-Barré syndrome.

According to Quinlan, washing raw chicken is not worth the risk.

“Some people think that they wash off microbes. Others just want to wash away the mucus, or they think the chicken is dirty. There are many reasons, up to the machine reflex: “Raw must be washed”. ”

Finally, another tip:  ready-made chicken should be stored in a closed container in the refrigerator; at room temperature there is always a risk of infection.

Experts from the UK Food Standards Agency issued a warning that washing chicken carcasses is deadly for both the cook and people nearby.

Recently, British health experts said that people should stop washing chicken carcasses, because the deadly bacteria Campylobacter spreads during such treatment, Mirror writes.

These bacteria are responsible for the development of campylobacteriosis - an acute infectious, which is characterized by damage to the gastrointestinal tract and general intoxication of the body.

A study by the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) found that 44% of cooks always wash chicken carcasses before cooking. More than a third of the respondents (36%) acted in such a way as to get rid of germs, another third (36%) - with the goal of removing dirt, and the remaining 33% - because "they always did."

The results of the study aroused serious concern of the experts (FSA), and they hastened to explain what the “washing” of hens could entail.

“Although people follow the basic rules of processing poultry - for example, they wash their hands after contact with the carcass and make sure that it is completely ready, our survey showed that washing raw chicken is still common practice. However, few people know that during such Campylobacter bacteria can spread and infect even those a meter away from the sink, ”explains FSA Executive Director Catherine Brown.“ Infection with these bacteria has serious consequences, especially for children and adults over 60, as due to a weak immune system, they are most at risk of developing food poisoning.If ignoring the symptoms of poisoning, which include abdominal pain, severe diarrhea and vomiting, and untimely seeking medical help, patients may develop reactive arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome and Guillain syndrome "Barre is a serious disease affecting the nervous system. That's why we encourage people to stop and stop washing chicken carcasses."

The experts were supported by Ann Edwards, a 67-year-old Briton who became infected with Campylobacter and was paralyzed.

“First, I was diagnosed with food poisoning, and then Guillain-Barré syndrome, which made me paralyzed. I stayed in the hospital for seven weeks and this was the worst thing that ever happened to me. I call on everyone who continues wash the chicken, take care of yourself, abandoning this procedure, ”she turned to the public.

Do you always wash your chicken before cooking? Perhaps you should abandon this dangerous habit now. We were taught to wash everything from childhood, but the UK National Health Service has a different opinion on this. So why not wash the meat before cooking?

Raw Chicken - An Abundance of Bacteria

We all know that bacteria such as campylobacter and salmonella can be found in raw meat. They are both on the surface of the chicken carcass, and inside. If you wash the meat before cooking, then it will not bring any benefit. You may be able to get rid of some part of the bacteria, but most of them will remain inside. The only way meat can be made safe is to heat it. The temperature during cooking should not be lower than 165 ° C.

But this is not all the news. It turns out that chicken should not be washed before cooking, because it can bring tremendous harm to your body.

To wash or not to wash?

If you have this question, then you need to think about this. Do you know how many bacteria are on the surface of the chicken? During washing, you spread them around you. Running and splashing water can help bacteria get to the table, to your clothes. In the end, bacteria will spread around the entire washbasin. If there are open products nearby, splashes that you may not notice will fall there. All this is fraught with poisoning. In addition, if an adult healthy body is able to overcome pathogenic microorganisms, then a child does not always cope with this. That is why babies so often pick up salmonellosis and other intestinal infections.

Quite often, housewives make another mistake. They wash the meat over the plates that stand in the sink. Since in the future the chicken undergoes heat treatment, it will not bring harm to the body. But the dishes in the wash basin - maybe. If it has been in contact with meat, it should be washed well. The same applies to everything that came into contact with raw chicken.

The opinion of scientists

Everyone, and even professional chefs, disagreed, discussing this issue. Some argue that this is necessary. Others have long abandoned this habit and no longer wash raw meat before cooking.

Jennifer Quinlan, food safety expert at the University of Drexel, suggests an experiment and at least once a try not to wash the chicken before cooking. He claims that the difference will not be felt.

But experts on product quality argue that meat is still worth washing. After all, it is not completely known where the chicken was before you purchased it. Some unscrupulous sellers store goods directly on the floor.

In any case, if you decide for yourself that washing meat is a necessity, you should make sure that splashes from the water do not fly in different directions. It will be useful to always have a disinfectant on hand. After washing the meat, it is necessary to wash the wash basin and everything that is nearby. After contact with raw chicken, be sure to wash your hands.

Make sure it's a good day to wash your chicken.  Naturally, look at the weather forecast to make sure that the day will be sunny and warm; you don’t want your poor chicken to go wet in the cold!

Prepare bathing tubs. Prepare three baths; plastic garbage containers, feeders or other similar items are quite suitable. When choosing a vessel for washing, make sure that it is wider than the chicken itself and deep enough so that, being half full, it allows you to immerse each chicken whole, without a head. This will keep the water in the bath, preventing it from splashing. Narrow containers also inhibit rocking, which is very important to reduce panic and confusion.

• Pour Ivory Dishwashing Liquid or Castile Liquid Soap into the first bath. Then pour water (to make it pleasant and frothy.) Use hot or warm water, unless it is very hot. With 1/2 cup of 20 Mule Team Borax added to the bath, it will be more effective, especially if the chicken is light or white.
• Pour plain water into the second bath. In it you will flush the bird.
• Pour a mixture of vinegar and water into the third bath (2 cups of vinegar / 3.7 liters of water). You can also add a tablespoon of glycerin to give the chicken extra shine, but make sure that the chicken does not drink anything, or you will be very embarrassed at the vet.

• Choose the chicken you want to wash.  The one that should be clean, or the dirtiest.

  Slowly lower the chicken into the first tray.  If before that she had never bathed, then it was in this bath that she would begin to go crazy. When it comes to the second, it is hoped that she will be too exhausted to resist.

  • gently shake it up and down in smooth, immersive movements. Do not rub too hard, otherwise you will break the feathers.
  • After it gets wet through, pull it out and hold it with both hands over the bathtub to let the glass water. Hens absorb an incredible amount of water! If you have an assistant, it's time for him to use a soft washcloth to clean his paws while the chicken “drains”.
  • If the feathers have stuck together from the litter, it is necessary to soak the bird for several minutes to dissolve it, stirring the water a little. Any cleaning of tangled feathers should be carried out with extreme care and only in the direction of the tips of the feathers. Be patient, as litter usually dissolves in warm, soapy water.
  • Do not leave the chicken unattended at any stage! The bird can easily drown, even in a small container, if it is nervous or does not feel the bottom. Always keep your head above water.

• Transfer all the hens to the second bath and gently shake them up and down again to completely wash off the soap.

  When it comes to the third bath, make sure that the vinegar water enters all parts of the chicken body.  It will make their feathers shine!

• Dry the chickens!  Let the water drain, holding them over the rinse bath until it stops dripping.

  • In warm weather, you can thoroughly dry them with a towel, covering them and pressing them, but without friction - just gently pat them. Do the same under each wing.
  • If it is cold, you will need to bring them into the room and completely dry them with a hairdryer at the lowest power so that the waves do not break or curl feathers. It’s probably better not to tell your wife what you did with the hairdryer ...
  • Caution: may smell fried. You will need to keep your hand between the fan and the chicken during drying. If you are too hot, it is too hot for chicken.

• Trim their beaks and claws, if necessary.  Do I need to cut beaks and claws? If so, go ahead! You need to cut only where they obviously outgrew in order to restore their natural look. Cut the claws into tiny pieces and watch the bloodline! (This is a reddish line that you may or may not see in the claw.) If your chicken has dark claws, you should immediately cut them into small pieces. If the claw begins to bleed, dip it in a powdery substance such as flour or baking powder.

  • Roosters may need to trim and blunt the spur claws to reduce damage if they fight other roosters.