As with uncooked eggs, raw hen can comprise salmonella and different disease-causing germs. So must you wash hen earlier than cooking it?

For years, consultants have urged warning and good hygiene practices when dealing with uncooked items of the chicken. Many individuals thought they had been doing exactly that by washing their hen earlier than cooking. Then, in 2019, the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC) stated they had been doing the precise reverse.

Ought to You Wash Rooster?

“Except you need to unfold germs round your kitchen that may make you sick, by no means wash uncooked hen,” says Samantha Thoms, MPH, RDN, a registered dietitian within the Heart of Well being Advocacy and Wellness at Florida State College. “You’ll kill the micro organism on the hen when you prepare dinner it completely to at the very least 165 levels Fahrenheit.”

The CDC additionally recommends:

• Utilizing a separate chopping board for uncooked hen
• By no means resting cooked meals or contemporary produce on surfaces that beforehand held uncooked hen
• Washing your arms with heat, soapy water for 20 seconds earlier than and after dealing with hen

Why Does Washing Rooster Unfold Micro organism?

“Rooster is understood to hold illness-causing germs like salmonella and campylobacter,” says Thoms. “Once you wash hen, contaminated water can splash in your faucet, the counter, your cooking utensils, and even your garments. This will increase the chances of spreading the germs round your kitchen and making you unwell. That is very true for these with weaker immune methods, similar to younger youngsters, seniors, pregnant girls, and people with persistent medical situations.”