‘Don’t wash your raw chicken!’ CDC’s advice has some people sizzling

It all started when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention served up some advice on Twitter.

“Don’t wash your raw chicken!” the CDC tweeted. “Washing can spread germs from the chicken to other food or utensils in the kitchen.”

The agency included a link to the “Chicken and Food Poisoning” section on its website, which includes plenty of advice when it comes to cooking chicken safely.

Some of those tips include using a separate cutting board for raw chicken, using a thermometer to make sure your meat has an internal temperature of 165 degrees, and washing your hands before and after handling the meat.

Of the 10 pieces of advice listed, only one tip was in bold.

“Do not wash raw chicken.”

If you do, “chicken juices can spread in the kitchen and contaminate other foods, utensils, and countertops,” the CDC said.

And while the advice was well-intentioned, many people on Twitter got all steamed up about it — and it led to some fiery opinions.

“I have been washing my raw chickens with warm water and lime for ages without problems,” one response says.

“theres no intelligence anywhere in this tweet,” says another.

On Monday — three days after the CDC tweeted about raw chicken — the agency replied to the sizzling opinions.

“We didn’t mean to get you all hot about not washing your chicken!” the CDC said. “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. Don’t wing food safety!”

While many responded that they still plan to wash their raw chicken, others defended the advice.

“The cdc wrote the article the C!!D!!C!! The comments are killing me,” one response says. “These are people that handle Ebola but folks can’t trust their advice on handling poultry?”

“The responses in here, reminds me that a lot of (people) do things (because) it was done before them & never asked why... now they got raw chicken juice on (their) clothes, floors & God knows what else...,” another says.

You should know that this is advice is not limited to raw chicken — and the advice doesn’t just come from the CDC.

“The USDA wants you to wash your hands, not your turkey, despite what mom, Grandma and various recipes might tell you,” the Kansas City Star reported in 2017. “It has offered that recommendation for several years now, but it’s clearly not taken to heart.”

At the time, nearly 70 percent of people said they wash their Thanksgiving turkey before cooking it, the Star reported.

“Some consumers think they are removing bacteria and making their meat or poultry safe,” the USDA says. “However, some of the bacteria are so tightly attached that you could not remove them no matter how many times you washed.

“But there are other types of bacteria that can be easily washed off and splashed on the surfaces of your kitchen,” the department continues. “Failure to clean these contaminated areas can lead to foodborne illness. Cooking (baking, broiling, boiling, and grilling) to the right temperature kills the bacteria, so washing food is not necessary.”

This story was originally published May 1, 2019 at 3:22 PM with the headline "‘Don’t wash your raw chicken!’ CDC’s advice has some people sizzling."