Washing raw chicken before cooking it seems like common sense to most people. Everybody knows that raw chicken contains bacteria that can be harmful to us. So why not be extra careful and rinse your chicken off before cooking it?
Well, according to the Food Standards Agency, washing your chicken may contribute to the spread of these harmful bacteria rather than the disinfection of them.
Here is a breakdown of why washing raw chicken can be harmful to your health and how you can still enjoy chicken while avoiding all of those nasty bacteria.
Why you Shouldn’t Wash Raw Chicken
Raw chicken is full of bacteria that can cause people to become seriously ill or even worse. The most common causes of food poisoning in North America come from campylobacter and salmonella, two different types of bacteria that can be found in uncooked chicken.
Salmonella is a group of bacteria that is commonly found in the intestines of birds. People who eat food contaminated with salmonella develop symptoms such as diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps, nausea and vomiting. Most people who become sick from salmonella exposure recover after a few days, however some people develop more serious illnesses and sometimes die due to them. An example of one of these illnesses is septicaemia, otherwise known as blood poisoning.
Campylobacter is the leading cause of diarrheal illness in the United States. This illness can last for up to 10 days and causes extreme abdominal pain. Certain long term effects from exposure to campylobacter have also been reported.
These include arthritis and the development of a rare disease called Guillan-Barre syndrome. Guillan-Barre syndrome causes muscle weakness and affects the nervous system, and roughly 40% of Guillan-Barre syndrome cases in the United States are attributed to exposure to campylobacter.
According to the Food Standards Agency, campylobacter cannot be “cleansed” through the use of water. In fact, washing uncooked chicken that contains this bacteria can majorly.....
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