If you're the type to wash their raw chicken before preparing it, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say you could be spreading disease all around your kitchen.
"Don't wash your raw chicken!" the CDC tweeted last week. "Washing can spread germs from the chicken to other food or utensils in the kitchen."
The CDC says the "chicken juices" can spread around the kitchen and contaminate your other foods, utensils and countertops. It's estimated that nearly 1 million people every year come down with an illness after eating poultry contaminated with harmful bacteria.
The agency's tweet included a link some tips for consumers to prevent food poisoning from chicken. The CDC followed up with a tweet reminding people to cook chicken to an internal temperature of 165˚F to kill any harmful germs that might be present.
Twitter users weren't impressed with the agency's warning with many people mocking the agency's tweet.
The CDC tried to convince people with a follow up tweet saying they didn't mean to get everyone all riled up.
"We didn’t mean to get you all hot about not washing your chicken! But it’s true: kill germs by cooking chicken thoroughly, not washing it. You shouldn’t wash any poultry, meat, or eggs before cooking. They can all spread germs around your kitchen," the CDC wrote. "Don’t wing food safety!"
If you plan on picking up some raw chicken for dinner tonight, here are some steps the CDC says people should take to help prevent food poisoning.
- Place chicken in a disposable bag before putting in your shopping cart or refrigerator to prevent raw juices from getting onto other foods.
- Wash handswith warm soapy water for 20 seconds before and after handling chicken.
- Do not wash raw chicken.During washing, chicken juices can spread in the kitchen and contaminate other foods, utensils, and countertops.
- Use a separate cutting board for raw chicken.
- Never place cooked food or fresh produce on a plate, cutting board, or other surface that previously held raw chicken.
- Wash cutting boards, utensils, dishes, and countertops with hot soapy water after preparing chicken and before you prepare the next item.
- Use a food thermometer Externalto make sure chicken is cooked to a safe internal temperature of 165°F.
- If cooking frozen raw chicken in a microwavable meal, handle it as you would fresh raw chicken. Follow cooking directions carefully to prevent food poisoning.
- If you think the chicken you are served at a restaurant or anywhere else is not fully cooked, send it back for more cooking.
- Refrigerate or freeze leftover chicken within 2 hours (or within 1 hour if the temperature outside is higher than 90°F).
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