Nearly half of Australian cooks were still taking a food poisoning risk by washing raw chicken before cooking according to a recent consumer survey by the Food Safety Information Council and the Australian Chicken Meat Federation.
Washing any raw poultry, whether it’s chicken, duck, goose or turkey, is unsafe as it can spread bacteria to your hands, surfaces and other foods that may not be cooked. Washing is also unnecessary as cooking poultry to 75°C in the centre of a fillet or the thickest part of the thigh will kill any bacteria.
Rates of washing raw whole chicken has reduced from 60% to 49% since the survey question was last asked in 2011.
For simple tips on preparing, serving and storing food over the festive season, see our blog.
December 14, 2021