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********* 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 will always wash chicken. It is nasty when taken out of the package. I have been washing carefully for years and no one has ever gotten sick. Seems to be some kind of a motive for telling us all of a sudden not to wash.
Oh my, first Rachel Ray and now Dr. Oz AND the FDA! The thought of not washing EVERYTHING off before it’s cooked OR eaten raw is disgusting to me and I can’t believe anyone would dare do it OR, suggest someone else do it. It’s making my stomach turn at the mere thought. I’m now wondering how many times I’ve eaten chicken out or at someone’s home and that’s happened. I really think this is a “cultural” thing. Seriously. I can’t imagine any African American cook rolling like this. No offense to any other culture. I’m simply stating what I have experienced all my life and washing meat prior to cooking is my experience “taught, learned, exercised.”
I don’t think anyone believes they are removing bacteria from their chicken by washing it in water. Don’t be ridiculous. I will continue to wash my chicken to remove the hairs, feathers and whatever other debris may be there. You don’t know how many times your chicken was handled and hit the floor before it was packaged.
I have cooked for 49 years and never have my children or the adults in my family become ill from my cooking. We have become ill from cooked restaurants foods. I can not imagine not washing my meat and cleaning the areas around the sink and counters. I hope there will never come a time we go oops, maybe we should wash our meats.
Sorry, but I have to wash my meats off and dry them off real good. Not because of the bacteria, but because the meat has been wrapped up in the bloody looking water the comes in the package.
i say. if it AINT broke .. dont fix it.. Over the years we heard dont eat lettuce, spinach, tomatos, onions, dont eat beef , pork, ect.. everything we eat has some potential of being contaminated unless you buy it organic i guess. but i’ve never gotten food poisoning from my own food. only from restaurants.. so im not gonna spend any extra money on the chicken having its own bath tub.. i clean my counter tops with bleach anyway. i simply fill my sink with cold water and put a little vinegar (takes off that slime). i put the chicken in it.. massage it underwater with my hands.. drain the water.. remove the chicken and put bleach and /or comet in the sink. poof.. done. no contamination.. but .. i guess if it makes ya feel better to do the steps then.. you should do it.. alot of what we hear and read is full of hype and propaganda. now everybody is gonna go buy a bucket and stock up on bleach. .. cha-ching!!!!!!!
I cannot stop laughing at yr comment I literally have tears falling from my eyes….OMG. ….!!! That was hilarious! !! But on the serious side I use vinegar also.