Washing vegetables, fruits, and poultry items before cooking is considered to be the basic norm for maintaining hygiene and eating healthily. But this same practice can turn dangerous in the case of washing chicken at home before cooking. Very few really know that cleaning chicken with water prior to cooking may be extremely hazardous to health. Here’s why!
According to a report by The Conversation, most doctors and scientists advise not to wash raw poultry before cooking because it can spread bacteria around the sink, on your kitchen platform, and on the tap and these bacteria are quite dangerous. They mix with other food times, with your drinking water, and may make you seriously ill.
However, very few people are aware of this fact. Research shows that almost 50% of people across the world clean chicken with water before cooking and hence are exposed to harmful bacteria.
Raw poultry usually carries two types of bacteria: Campylobacter bacteria and Salmonella. These are quite common bacteria found on raw poultry and spread immediately in the kitchen when the poultry is cleaned with water.
More often it is the water drops that transfer the bacteria and spread them across the kitchen or even your clothes and over the last two decades, it has reportedly made millions of people ill.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US has said that the splashing of water leads to the spread. The best way to eliminate the issues caused by bacteria is by cooking it at an appropriate temperature and the same rule applies to other non-vegetarian foods like meat and fish.
Many times chefs wash the chicken to remove its sliminess. To avoid the spread of bacteria, scientists have advised to instead pat paper towels on them and dispose of them properly to avoid cross-contamination.