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Stop Washing Raw Chicken!

Aug
6
2010

Sometimes old habits are hard to break!

Whenever I prepared chicken the first thing I would do was wash it off, then wash my hands in hot water with soap. Now the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and The British Food Standards Agency have joined a chorus of other agencies in warning us against washing chicken prior to cooking it!

These agencies contends that 65 per cent of all raw chicken is contaminated with campylobacter, which causes food poisoning. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has long warned against spreading campylobacter through raw food, including chicken, and advised washing hands and surfaces with soap and water after handling.

Campylobacter jejuni, which can cause stomach cramps, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, is found in the intestines of poultry, cattle and pigs. It is responsible for up to 14 per cent of the cases of diarrhea, according to Ontario’s Workplace Safety & Insurance Board.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture also advises against washing raw chicken, and points out that brining chicken in salt water is a taste issue, not one of food safety.

Food Standards Australian New Zealand have implemented a poultry wash of diluted lactic acid during chicken processing and are pushing for international adoption of this standard. In the meantime for chicken handling safety they recommend:

  • cook it thoroughly, until there is no pink visible and juices run clear
  • after handling raw chicken, wash and dry hands thoroughly, and
  • ensure all utensils that have been in contact with the raw chicken are also washed and dried thoroughly before being reused.

So you learn something new every day!

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Sources: Healthzone Canada, The Poultry Site, Wikipedia, The Cucumber Lady

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Mark W. Law has been a writing and journalism fanatic since he was first tagged to write a 3 act ’shadow play’ – in Grade 2! Originally from the wee hamlet of Oyster Bay, BC, Mark has worked in many parts of the world, including almost all of the Canadian provinces, the United States, Europe and even a sand-filled radio station in North Africa. During that time he has written for military and local newspapers, served as editor for a number of online magazines as well as publishing his own popular ezine for new writers and artists – The ThinWire Journal. Mark has also penned more than 100 poems and essays and is an internationally known digital artist. And for anyone who lived in Northern BC during the 1980’s and 1990’s, Mark was the ‘morning weatherman’ on CBC Radio. Opinions expressed in ‘the View’ are his own and do not necessarily reflect Teeswater or Teeswater.Ca.

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This work by Mark W. Law & The Teeswater.Ca Team is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada.