[ad_1]
Regarding the cleanliness of the chicken, the US Department of Agriculture recommends to stop washing the poultry.
A
USDA study
shows that people are at risk of illness when they rinse or wash raw poultry, the agency said in a press release issued on Monday.
The study conducted by the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service was conducted in partnership with North Carolina State University and examined how home cooks deal with raw meat. He also examined the impact of handling raw meat on the cleanliness of other foods nearby.
Here's how it worked: 300 participants prepared chicken and salad in test kitchens. Social media messages were broadcast to some of the participants, warning them not to wash the poultry before preparing their food, while the messages were not shown to another group.
"Food safety messages in e-mails actually encouraged participants not to wash raw chicken thighs before cooking," the study said, with 93 percent of participants considering the warning that has been given.
Among the participants in the control group – who were not shown social media warnings about poultry washing – 61% washed their poultry before cooking it.
Of the people who reported washing their poultry when cooking at home, 30% said they did so to eliminate blood and sludge, while 19% said they did so because that's what a family member does.
Rinse the chicken does not seem very serious, but it affects the cleanliness of the food nearby, showed the study. Among the group of people who washed their poultry, nearly 30% of their lettuce used for salads was contaminated with chicken bacteria. This figure was only 20% among people who had not washed their chicken.
Guilty party? Cross contamination by washing poultry.
"Even when consumers think that they clean effectively after washing poultry, this study shows that bacteria can easily spread to other surfaces and foods,"
says Mindy Brashears,
Assistant Secretary of the USDA for Food Security. "The best practice is not to wash the poultry."
The USDA recommends the following measures to help prevent diseases when preparing poultry or meat at home:
- Reduce your risk considerably by preparing foods that are not cooked, such as vegetables and salads, BEFORE handling and preparing raw meat and poultry.
- Of the participants who washed their raw poultry, 60% had bacteria in their sink after washing or rinsing the poultry. More worryingly, 14% still contained bacteria in their sinks after attempting to clean them.
- 26% of participants who washed raw poultry transferred bacteria from this raw poultry to their ready-to-eat lettuce.
- Thoroughly clean and disinfect any area potentially affected or contaminated with raw meat and poultry, or their juice.
- Of the participants who did not wash their raw poultry, 31% still managed to catch raw poultry bacteria in their lettuce.
- This high rate of cross-contamination was likely due to a lack of effective hand washing and contamination of the sink and utensils.
- Clean sinks and countertops with hot, soapy water and apply disinfectant.
- Wash your hands immediately after handling raw meat and poultry. Wet your hands with water, lather with soap, then scrub your hands for 20 seconds.
- Destroy any pathogenic bacteria by cooking meat and poultry at a safe internal temperature as measured by a food thermometer.
- Beef, pork, lamb and veal (steaks, roasts and chops) can be eaten safely at a temperature of 145 ° F.
- Minced meat (hamburgers) can be eaten safely at 160 ° F.
- Poultry (whole or ground) can be eaten at 165 ° F.
- Washing, rinsing or brining meat and poultry with salt water, vinegar or lemon juice does not destroy bacteria. If you want to remove something from your raw poultry, pat the area with a damp paper towel and wash your hands immediately.
[ad_2]
Source link