To wash chicken or not? The CDC joins the fray

The US Centers for Disease Control has joined the contentious topic on whether or not to wash chicken before cooking, saying it’s not needed.

The contentious topic, which has been defended by some who opine that chicken should be washed with vinegar or a citrus solution to cut freshness, was addressed in a post to the CDC’s Facebook page yesterday. 

According to the CDC, raw chicken does not need to be washed first. 

For those who choose to wash their chicken, the CDC advised that they try to reduce splashing as much as possible and sanitise the area around the sink with hot, soapy water, to remove the risk of the spread of bacteria. 

The CDC says raw chicken can be contaminated with Campylobacter, Salmonella, or Clostridium perfringens germs.

“If you eat undercooked chicken, you can get a foodborne illness, also called food poisoning. You can also get sick if you eat other foods or beverages that are contaminated by raw chicken or its juices.”

CDC estimates that every year in the United States about 1 million people get sick from eating contaminated poultry.

Needless to say, there were a lot of comments on the topic. 

One woman said: “Typically the people who have always practiced washing their chicken have done so with a large bowl they’ve filled with water and sometimes things like lemon, vinegar or salt added to it, before putting their chicken in. That has cultural ties. The newer wave who found chicken washing to be trendy were the ones running it under the water and letting it splash everywhere. So really it’s a non issue to anyone who has always done it the “right” way.”

Another commented: 

“I agree. Frozen chicken here in the US is a bit slimy. Thus, washing it in a bowl with a little bit vinegar is a must for us. Otherwise, it will have a foul taste.”

Another replied: 

“For those who wash their chicken, do you also wash pork, beef & seafood such as shrimp, salmon, tilapia, etc?? Just wondering if this applies to ALL raw meat or we’re just discriminating chicken 

I personally have never practiced the ‘washing’ technique and have never fallen ill. I did however fall ill to ‘properly cooked’ pork, food poisoning is the worse, don’t wish it upon anyone.”

Gloria Thornton said:

“To each his/her own. I will continue to wash my chicken before I cook it. I’ve been washing it for 60-plus years and will continue to do so. I was born and raised on a farm. At a very young age my siblings and I had to pluck and clean chickens after my grandparents killed them. Back then we cleaned them using water drawn from a well. Those chickens were 100 percent all natural. Not like the slimy, nasty stuff they sell nowadays. So, yes I wash my chickens. Always have, always will.”

What’s your view, will you continue to wash your chicken? Comment below.