We talked to the USDA, a germ expert, and a prominent NYC chef.
Hello! My name is Michelle and I'm a writer for BuzzFeed Food. On a recent scroll through the comments on one of our videos, I noticed a ton of people said they washed their chicken before cooking it.
This was shocking to me, as I had never even considered that store-bought, packaged chicken might need washing. I've never done it. (And FWIW, I've never had a problem!)
NBC
Curious writer (and self-conscious person) that I am, I decided to poll the BuzzFeed community to see where I stood on the practice.
Results were split. Most people said no, but a significant number said yes — they do, indeed, rinse their raw chicken before cooking it. 😯
So who's actually in the right, hygiene-wise? To get to the bottom of this question, I decided to ask the experts.
I turned to three of them — a USDA rep; a germ expert and health professor; and an NYC chef from a fancy restaurant that churns out chicken all day, every day.
TBS
First up? USDA spokesperson Marianne H. Gravely. She said that the department "falls squarely in the 'don’t wash your chicken' camp."
According to the USDA, you should not wash raw poultry or any other meat, because you may spread potential bacteria in the poultry juices to other foods, utensils, and surfaces.
And in fact, washing it isn't even getting the bacteria off your chicken. Even though you may think that washing your chicken removes bacteria or harmful slime, "some of the bacteria are so tightly attached that you could not remove them no matter how many times you washed it," Gravely told BuzzFeed Food. Fortunately, cooking the meat is generally enough to kill any present bacteria. To be absolutely sure you've killed ALL the bacteria, you should use a food thermometer to make sure your meat has reached an internal temperature of 165°F.
via BuzzFeed/Food
