If you've got plans to barbecue or cook chicken anytime soon, you'll want to read this.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just put out an alert to consumers on Twitter, advising people not to wash raw chicken.
Don’t wash your raw chicken! Washing can spread germs from the chicken to other food or utensils in the kitchen. https://t.co/QlFpd1alG3 pic.twitter.com/bLB1ofcuh7
— CDC (@CDCgov) April 26, 2019
The CDC said when you wash raw chicken, its juices can spread in the kitchen and contaminate other foods, utensils, and countertops with germs and bacteria like salmonella, campylobacter, and clostridium perfringens.
Instead, the CDC has these tips to safely handle raw chicken:
- Place chicken in a disposable bag before putting in your shopping cart or refrigerator to prevent raw juices from getting onto other foods.
- Wash hands with warm soapy water for 20 seconds before and after handling chicken.
- Use a separate cutting board for raw chicken.
- Never place cooked food or fresh produce on a plate, cutting board, or other surface that previously held raw chicken.
- Wash cutting boards, utensils, dishes, and countertops with hot soapy water after preparing chicken and before you prepare the next item.
- Use a good thermometer to make sure chicken is cooked to a safe internal temperature of 165 degrees.
- If cooking frozen raw chicken in a microwavable meal, handle it as you would fresh raw chicken. Follow cooking directions carefully to prevent food poisoning.
- If you think the chicken you are served at a restaurant or anywhere else is not fully cooked, send it back for more cooking.
- Refrigerate or freeze leftover chicken within two hours (or within one hour if the temperature outside is higher than 90 degrees).
