Are you worried about the potential for chicken to make you sick if prepared incorrectly?

Do you wash your raw chicken before cooking it?

Around half of Australians wash their raw chicken before cooking it, and the experts say this practice is actually at risk of making them very sick.

The Australian Chicken Meat Federation (ACMF) and the Food Safety Information Council are concerned by new research that found nearly half (49 per cent) of Australian cooks were washing raw whole chicken before cooking it, despite the food safety risk that it presents.

ACMF Executive Director Dr Vivien Kite says, “We are still seeing recipes advising cooks to wash raw chicken as part of food preparation, and with Christmas festivities just around the corner, we want this to stop. 

"Some bacteria, like Salmonella, are part of the normal microflora of the chicken gut but can cause illness in humans if food is not handled correctly. 

"Washing raw chicken before cooking it is likely to splash raw meat juices and any bacteria that may be present around the kitchen sink, bench top and utensils, and other raw foods, increasing the chance that you might get sick.”

Tips to handle chicken safely:

• Don’t wash raw chicken
• Keep raw chicken separate from other cooked or raw foods
• Ensure your tools, utensils and chopping boards are cleaned and dried thoroughly before you start preparing your food and ensure you clean any tools with hot soapy water after use
• Store raw chicken in the fridge for 1-2 days after bringing it home, preferably towards the back of the fridge and on the lower shelves
• Wash and dry hands thoroughly after handling raw chicken
• Cook chicken meat thoroughly right through, with all parts of the meat to reach at least 75°C

Do you wash your raw chicken before cooking it? Did you know the risks involved in doing this?