Ok so here’s the debate: To rinse off your raw chicken before cooking or not to rinse off before cooking.

The FDA use to encourage this practice and now they are saying “Washing raw poultry before cooking it is not recommended” since bacteria can not be removed from raw chicken by washing, but only by cooking.

They say that washing risks splashing raw juices over the sink, counters, etc, which greatly increases the chances of salmonella and other illnesses through cross contamination.

sink sprayer

A sink hose sprayer should not be used to rinse raw meat.

Well what about that icky juice that chicken is sitting in while in the package, you ask? Well the FDA says  “it is mostly water which was absorbed by the chicken during the chilling process. Blood is removed from poultry during slaughter and only a small amount remains in the muscle tissue. An improperly bled chicken would have cherry red skin and is condemned at the plant.”


Ummm….ok here’s the thing. I CAN’T NOT wash off my chicken. It just seems so……wrong!! I totally understand their reason for recommending not to rinse raw chicken, but I just can’t get passed that slimy film that is sometimes on fresh chicken. I know it cooks off but….. perhaps it’s just a  mind thing with me.

Salmonella and other food-borne diseases are common, painful and can even cause death in kids, elderly or those with weak immune systems. I got food poisoning from a restaurant once and thought I was going to die! We certainly don’t want to contaminate our familes so what do you do if you just can’t get down with the no-rinse  rule?

Well here’s what I recently started doing:

I have a huge pail that I use to rinse off my meat. I sit it in the sink and turn the water on really low (so that it doesn’t splash) and rinse off my chicken. I wash my hands over the pail when I’m done washing my chicken and then flush the dirty water down the toilet. To clean the pail I spray it down with Clorox Anywhere Spray, let it sit and then wash it out and flush that water down the toilet. That way everything is contained and nothing gets contaminated.

*****************update*********  Aint nobody got time for this!!! I went back to rinsing my chicken off carefully in the sink under low water pressure and then I clean the sink with my homemade spray of vinegar, citrus, tea tree oil and grapefruit oil.

So what do you think??? Do you rinse or not rinse?

 

 

Info: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/fact_sheets/chicken_from_farm_to_table/index.asp