Food safety tips for chicken: Don’t wash it, clean your hands and more

When we talk about safely preparing food at home, we often stress the importance of washing and cleaning as we go. With raw poultry, however, experts make an exception: They say never wash your chicken.

That’s because chicken can be contaminated with pathogens, including salmonella, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says causes more foodborne illnesses than any other bacteria. The CDC also notes that each year about 1 million Americans get sick from eating contaminated poultry.

The risk is at its greatest when raw chicken is prepared for cooking, especially when people choose to wash it, says Meredith Carothers, food safety specialist for the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. But that’s not the only time you should be careful. Here are some essential food safety recommendations for handling chicken.

Don’t wash chicken

Rinsing chicken is among the leading causes of cross-contamination, according to the USDA. Splashing water can spread bacteria by sending contaminated droplets onto sponges, sinks, faucets, counters and tools. While the USDA has long recommended home cooks not wash raw poultry, many continue the practice.

“We realized that we are losing an entire population when we say do not wash your chicken,” Carothers says. “This is a practice that likely won’t change for lots of people. This is how they learned how to cook from their mothers, their grandparents. It’s seen as necessary by a large group of people.” So Carothers says the USDA now offers recommendations for how to protect yourself if washing your chicken feels essential.

If you insist on rinsing your chicken, use as little water as possible to reduce splashing, she says. Immediately clean the sink and the surrounding area with hot, soapy water and then sanitize with a bleach solution or a commercial sanitizer (see below). Wash your hands thoroughly, scrubbing with soap for at least 20 seconds.

Sanitizing the sink is essential because so much food prep happens there, including handling produce and washing other dishes and utensils, says Hillary Ayers, a family and consumer sciences agent with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension Orange County.

Keep in mind that rinsing or soaking chicken does not destroy bacteria. Only cooking to the proper temperature (see below) will kill the pathogens that can cause salmonella-related illness, Carothers says.

Keep chicken cold

Store poultry in a refrigerator set to 40 degrees or below. Chilling or freezing drastically slows pathogen production.

Carothers recommends cooking or freezing chicken within two days of buying it, as grocery store refrigerators are colder and therefore more effective at delaying the proliferation of bacteria.

If the chicken is frozen, slowly thaw it in the refrigerator, preferably covered and placed on a plate or tray to catch any potential leaks. A low shelf in the back of the refrigerator is best.

Never thaw chicken on the counter. If you’re in a hurry, defrost it by placing it in airtight packaging and completely submerging it in cold water, changing the water every 30 minutes. It also can be thawed in a microwave. If chicken is thawed in the refrigerator, it can be kept refrigerated for another two days or even refrozen. Chicken thawed in the microwave or in cold water should be cooked immediately.

Wash your hands often after handling chicken

Each time you touch raw chicken, immediately wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with hot, soapy water. Even the most fastidious cooks can contaminate their kitchens by touching common items, such as a phone, cookbook, magazine, soap pump, spice or flour containers, knobs and faucets.

To cut down on hand-washing and avoid cross contamination, first gather, measure and prep any ingredients you plan to use on the chicken. Once the chicken is cooking, wash down the kitchen and then start working on the sides or salads, Ayers says. This way the raw chicken and other foods are never sharing tools, countertops, cutting boards or sinks.

Clean the kitchen after prepping chicken

If your dishwasher has a sanitize setting and your tools are dishwasher-safe, you can clean them this way.

If that’s not an option, use hot, soapy water to clean tools or surfaces, rinse them thoroughly with clean water and pat them dry with a clean towel or allow them to air dry. Then, to sanitize, make a solution of 1 tablespoon of liquid chlorine bleach with 1 gallon of water, according to the USDA. For plastic or wood cutting boards, pour the solution onto them and let stand for several minutes. For utensils, dunk them in the solution. Then, rinse and dry. You can also use commercial sanitizers, but check the label to be sure they are safe to use with cooking tools and kitchen surfaces.

Carothers advises against using vinegar or lemon juice as sanitizers (or for rinsing chicken). Both combat only some of the bacteria that may be present.

To wipe counters and tools, Ayers urges using either paper towels that can immediately be tossed or using clean cloth towels and immediately putting them in the washing machine to be washed with hot soap and detergent.

For additional peace of mind, boil a kettle of water and pour it over the sink and sponges. It’s not essential, but it is beneficial, Ayers says.

Cook chicken to the right temperature

Undercooked chicken can also cause food poisoning. Never rely on the color of the meat or juices. Temperature is your ally here. To get an accurate reading, insert an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the meat, avoiding the bone, fat or gristle. The USDA recommends cooking chicken to at least 165 degrees to kill harmful bacteria and prevent foodborne illness.

While some recipe developers suggest cooking chicken breasts to a lower temperature and holding them there for a certain amount of time to ensure the pathogens are killed, Carothers says 165 degrees is a better bet for safety.

Dark meat - legs and thighs - is more forgiving (and cheaper). It can remain tender and juicy even when cooked to higher temperatures, but don’t take it past 195 to 200 degrees.

Refrigerate cooked chicken

Perishable foods should not be left at room temperature for more than two hours, one hour if the ambient temperature is more than 90 degrees. Bacteria thrive between 40 and 140 degrees, so the more time the food remains at warmer temperatures, the more likely it is to cause foodborne illness. For large whole chickens or turkey, Carothers recommends cutting the bird into pieces or slicing meat before refrigerating it to ensure that all of the meat quickly cools.