Never, Ever Wash Raw Chicken. Here's Why.

Oh, My! Who knew? Do you wash your chicken before you cook it? I do! I was always told it was an essential part of poultry-cooking hygiene. But now the experts are saying just the opposite. Apparently we should never, ever wash raw chicken. Here's Why!

If this news is true, it's a miracle that those of us who washed our chicken before throwing it in a pan are even alive! It always made perfect sense to me, if poultry can harbor harmful bacteria, that you would wash it before cooking, and consuming it. The fact that chicken carries harmful bacteria in the first place was always a little disturbing, but that whole act of washing it first always put my mind at ease. Clean chicken, healthy meal. Chicken soup's the best thing for fighting a cold virus, after all!

But according to this article, washing your chicken can actually spread nasty bacteria all around your kitchen, not to mention your hands, cooking utensils, and whatever else you may touch after handling that foul bird. The United Kingdom's Food Standards Agency is actually warning people that bacteria-infested water drops can be dispersed within three feet of your chicken while you're rinsing it.

Apparently a recent survey shows that over 44 percent of people tend to wash their chicken before cooking it (I actually thought it was closer to 100 percent), and these numbers have alarmed the UK's Food Standards Agency to the extent that they have now issued a public service announcement that basically says to stop washing your chicken! You'll want to watch this terrifying video about what will happen if you keep on washing chicken recipes. Instead you want to prepare your chicken recipes safely and remove your chicken from the package and keep it confined to one surface, preferably a non-porous cutting board that can be cleaned thoroughly. But be pre-warned the video is a bit frightening and will most likely change the way you look at your future chicken recipe ideas. Knowing the proper way to prepare your chicken recipe is the first step in safe and healthy cooking. It is very important when cooking any chicken recipe that you do it the right way.

The exact pathogens that chicken can carry? Well, the main one is campylobacter, and according to them it's a real doozy, causing severe nerve damage in extreme cases.

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