For the love of all things holy, just stop washing your raw chicken.
But the same bacteria can show up in home kitchens if youre not careful.
That means that everyone needs to check that to follow proper food safety guidelines at home.
HuffPost spoke with food safety experts on preparation and cooking methods that arent food-safe and what to do instead.
Germs can be on your hands and can easily spread to your cooking surfaces and food.
Washing your hands is an easy and simple prevention method to reduce pathogens.
Phones and tablets can be breeding grounds for bacteria, Resnick said.
It is super important to wash your hands before you kick off cooking and during the cooking process.
Mishandling Your Cutting Boards
Slicing raw chicken or fish on a cutting board?
ensure to wash it with hot water and soap before using the same board to chop vegetables.
Otherwise, you create a perfect haven for cross-contamination.
To prevent cross-contamination, he usescolor-coded cutting boardsand has separate ones for meat, poultry and fish.
You must be mindful of what and how you are handling foods in the kitchen, Baum said.
This may seem an obvious practice to avoid, but its more common than you may think.
You also want to consider any utensils that come into contact with uncooked meat.
I wash my tongs in between putting my chicken on and taking them off again, he said.
Washing Raw Chicken
There are two teams, those who wash their poultry and those who dont.
If youre on team always wash your chicken, youre in for a surprise its not a good idea.
Washing meat isnt necessary since the meat is sold as ready to cook.
Washing the bird doesnt really significantly alter it other than removing those surface blemishes, Schneider said.
The issue with washing chicken or turkey?
Its a wonderful way to spread bacteria and pathogens in your sink and beyond.
He said people should be sanitizing their kitchens more frequently, especially after handling raw meat.
Wondering whats the best way to sanitize the kitchen?
you could use any household cleaners labeled for disinfection, he said.
Schneider doesnt recommend a specific brand or punch in because it depends on the surface youre cleaning.
If youve had a partially thawed piece of meat, you may think it is still safe.
(These tips align with theFood and Drug Administrations guidance.)
Resnick explained that thawing meat in water is similar to thawing it on the counter.
Not Using A Meat Thermometer
How do you know when your chicken has been cooked thoroughly?
If youre relying on what it looks like, that wont tell you whether its food-safe.
So making sure that we reach that killed temperature and having a meat thermometer is critical, Schneider added.
Department of Agriculture guidelinesfor what is considered a safe cooking temperature.
Cooking Raw Food In The Microwave
Prefer cooking in the microwave instead of the stovetop?
One of the main issues is its easy to undercook foods.
Microwave ovens have differing wattage that can influence correct cooking times and lead to undercooking, Baum explained.
Educating yourself on how your microwave cooks foods can help you to not eat undercooked food.
You may be unexpectedly putting yourself and others at risk.
Resnick explained why this is a big food safety issue.
(Just verify it isnt sitting out at room temperature for more than two hours!)
