Consumers are more likely to spread bacteria from raw chicken to salad ingredients when they wash the chicken, according to a USDA-funded study released on Tuesday. The USDA said the study reinforced its advice not to wash or rinse raw chicken and to prepare foods, such as salads, that will be consumed without cooking before handling raw meat.
Researchers found bacteria from the raw chicken in 26 percent of the salads prepared in test kitchens by people who washed or rinsed raw chicken compared to a 20 percent rate when people did not. Some 300 people took part in the study, which was conducted in North Carolina.
“Hand-facilitated cross-contamination is suspected as a important factor in explaining this level of cross-contamination,” the researchers concluded. High levels of the harmless “tracer” bacteria used in the study were found in the test kitchen sinks, suggesting that “microbes harbored in the sink from chicken, packaging, or contaminated fluids were a larger cause for concern than splashing contaminated chicken fluids onto the counter.”
The USDA should consider modifying its food-safety messages, said the study, to focus on preventing contamination of sinks, where fruits and vegetables are rinsed, to discourage rinsing and washing raw poultry, and to encourage hand-washing and other steps to prevent cross-contamination.
The study is available here.