UK Health Radio Medical News Update - Don't Wash Chicken

UK Health Radio

Medical News Update

Don't Wash Chicken

Today we are being warned to stop washing raw chicken as doing so increases the risk of food poisoning. An online survey of four and a half thousand UK adults by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) found that almost half of them washed chicken before cooking. However far from cleaning the food it can spread Campylobacter onto the hands doing the washing and to clothing, cooking utensils and work surfaces. 

Campylobacter affects about 280,000 people in the UK each year and yet only 28% of those asked in the FSA survey had even heard of it and only a third of them knew that poultry was the main source of the bacteria. Ninety per cent however had heard of salmonella and E. coli. Those washing chicken most commonly said they did because they thought it was necessary or because their mother had always prepared chicken in that way.

The majority of cases of Campylobacter come from contaminated poultry.  This nasty infection causes diarrhoea, cramps, stomach pains and fever, and generally feeling unwell.  Although most people are only ill for a few days, it can lead to long-term health problems, including irritable bowel syndrome and a serious condition of the nervous system, Guillain-Barre syndrome.

The best advice for handling raw chicken is to cover and chill it, and store it at the bottom of the fridge to prevent any juices dripping onto other food.  Never wash raw chicken and thoroughly wash all utensils, chopping boards and surfaces used while preparing raw chicken.  With the barbeque season upon us it is essential that all chicken should always be cooked thoroughly - there should be no pink meat and juices should run clear.  In the worst-case scenario Campylobacter can kill and the people most at risk are children under five and older people so it is well worth heeding the advise from the Food Standards Agency.

Amanda Thomas

UK Health Radio- Medical News Update

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