FDA Says Stop Rinsing Off Raw Chicken…
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.
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********* Â 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
I agree. I cannot see myself not washing anything that I am going to prepare. Cleaning my food is part of the preparation process.
Well, I’m assuming that we clean and disinfect our meat workspace anyways, so why not wash off the chicken? I’m like you, I can’t get past some slimy film sitting on meat *eww. But if you work with raw meat in the kitchen, then there should be sanitization happenin anyways.
Well, I’m assuming that we clean and disinfect our meat workspace anyways, so why not wash off the chicken? I’m like you, I can’t get past some slimy film sitting on meat *eww. But if you work with raw meat in the kitchen, then there should be sanitization happenin anyways.
Ewww…I will continue to wash my chicken prior to cooking. I sometimes even soak my chicken over night in a brine because it tastes better. I like your idea of keeping it contained in a bucket, I use a large bowl.
I can not stop washing off anything that I am going to eat.
I agree with you. I have to rinse off my meats, no matter what kind they are. I don’t trust what the FDA has to say about anything due to the fact that they allow factory farms to be up and running. The reason why E Coli and Salmonella is such a huge problem is because of factory farms and confinement of the animals. I choose to buy my meat from farms that raise their animals humanely. If my chicken isn’t from a farm that raise them on the pasture, then I don’t buy conventionally raised meats. People have to educate themselves and question why foods are infected with these bacteria in the first place. Grass-fed beef, pastured chicken and other poultry is the way to go. I watched a couple of food documentaries that opened my eyes to industrialized foods and I’ll never go back to eating conventional meats again.
I believe you have it right. I do the exact same thing.
I only eat free range chicken, turkey, and beef. I also have to wash off my meats before cooking them. However, I scrub everything down with Clorox Cleanup after washing…sinks, counters, handles, faucets. I just imagine slimy meat juice on everything and begin scrubbing.
I scrub everything as well, but I don’t like bleach because of the toxic chemicals in it, and also because the fumes affect my breathing. I make a homemade cleaner using white vinegar, borax, dish soap, and hot water. If you don’t want to make homemade cleaners, then you can use peroxide. I’ve read online that peroxide kills germs too without toxic fumes.
If you wash chicken or poultry you are deliberately contaminating your kitchen, utensils, countertops, floors, walls, and windows. The spray can send bacteria up to four feet away from the sink. There is NO way to prevent contamination and NO way to ensure that you have adequately cleaned the kitchen. More than 3,000 Americans die every year from food poisoning, most caused by foolish consumers who wash their chicken. For the equally foolish reason that they don’t “trust” the FDA.
You say that it’s foolish not to trust the FDA, quite frankly I think it’s foolish to automatically trust any agency that tells you what you should or shouldn’t do while allowing certain things to take place. I’ve done enough research to know what works best for me and my family. You have your opinions and I have mine, and I will continue to do what I’ve been doing.
I agrees wid chu. Dese people ought be arrested for washin ders chickens. it ought be a felonee! Den we gets dese people off da streets and in da prisins. das my pinion.