Cook That Bird!

To wash or not to wash? That’s a question home cooks ask experts at the Department of Agriculture’s meat and poultry hotline a lot around the holidays. Or what’s worse, they don’t ask, and end up spreading food pathogens all over their kitchens, increasing the very risk of food-borne illness they are trying to avoid. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), food-borne pathogens sicken an estimated 48 million Americans every year, putting 128,000 in the hospital and killing 3,000.

Many home cooks wash the chicken or turkey before cooking, but that only increases the risk of food-borne illness. Rinsing chicken or turkey before cooking it is an ingrained step for many home cooks, passed down through generations and reinforced by cookbooks. But the science begs to differ.

People should rinse their fresh fruits and vegetables with cold water, but not raw poultry, meat or eggs, according to the experts. The problem is, washing chicken won’t actually remove many bacteria, said Benjamin Chapman, an associate professor in North Carolina State University’s agricultural and human sciences department. But it can spread germs to hands, work surfaces, clothing and nearby utensils or food, through cross contamination.

“People are still shocked when we tell them” not to wash poultry, said Marianne Gravely, a food safety educator at the U.S.D.A., which has been advising against washing raw poultry and meat for decades. “That washing process can really only increase risk,” Chapman states. “All I really can do is control it through cooking.”

Cooking is the only way to kill pathogens like salmonella and campylobacter. Consumers should use a food thermometer to ensure meat and poultry reach a safe minimal temperature: 165 degrees for poultry; 160 degrees for ground meats; 145 degrees for steaks, chops, roasts, fresh or smoked ham, fish and shellfish.

And don’t forget to wash your hands! If you don’t want to be the cause of you, and everyone around you getting sick, wash your hands thoroughly any time you handle raw poultry.

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