This article shows how to properly wash chicken meat to avoid bacterial contamination on surrounding surfaces.
The technique comes from the engineers, chemists, and mathematicians from Montana State University and a microbiologist from the University of Chemistry and Technology in the Czech Republic.
They published their work in the Physics of Fluids in March 2022.
Years ago, I saw a video on how chicken meat is processed at the slaughterhouse. In one segment, the whole chickens with their feathers removed were washed in water containing their feces. Since then, I have made it a point to wash chicken meat when preparing them.
Risk of food poisoning
While washing raw chicken, splattered water can carry the Salmonella bacteria to nearby surfaces and cause food poisoning.
Salmonella food poisoning has an incubation period of six hours to six days and may present as:
- Diarrhea
- Stomach (abdominal) cramps
- Fever
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Chills
- Headache
- Blood in the stool
The resulting food poisoning can result in hospitalization and death. Because of the risk, the US Food and Drug Administration, the CDC, the National Health Service, and the US Department of Agriculture advise against washing raw chicken meat before cooking.
However, many people are unaware of or follow the recommendations. This prompted the authors to conduct a study on how to minimize cross-contamination.
The way they did the study is high tech using high-speed video, microbiological cultures, and genetic sequencing. We will skip the methods and go straight to the results.
Factors that increase contamination
The farther the meat is from the faucet, the greater the splash diameter.
Faucet height plays the most significant factor. The study showed a wider water splash and a greater risk of contamination at a distance greater than 15 cm or about six inches. This applies to both chicken meat with and without the skin.
The faster the flow rate, the wider the contamination.
The faster velocity of the water produces a wider splash, and that is self-explanatory. The image below compares the bacterial colonies that grew at 15 cm and 40 cm faucet height and aerated and unaerated conditions on culture plates. Note the presence of more bacterial growth at 40 cm faucet height.
Initial splash plays a major role
If the meat is directly under the faucet as it is turned on, there is a greater chance of splash. In contrast, there was less contamination when they put the meat under the tap when it was already running.
A softer surface increases the splashing
This part of the experiment compared the splash between a solid ball and a softer stress ball. A softer surface creates a concave divot that launches the water stream off the surface.
My initial reaction to this finding is that it may not apply to chicken meat since chicken parts have the same consistency. But when I think about it, the outer surface of the breast, thighs, and drumsticks are convex and similar to the ball, but the inner surfaces are rougher with more recessed areas and have a greater tendency for splashing. According to the authors, the effect of the shape is not as significant as the height of the faucet.
Bacterial analysis shows many types of disease-causing bacteria.
Aeromonas, Pseudomonas, Serratia, and Staphylococcus grew in their cultures. But with genetic sequencing, they found more. I mention them here to show that there are many germs in raw chicken meat and why they must be cooked well.
They include Ralstonia, Curvibacter, Pseudomonas, Carnobacterium, Afipia, Acidibacter, Delftia, Thermogemmatispora, Arthrospira, Yersinia, Cutibacterium, Bacillus, Candidatus Nitrocosmicus and C. Nitrososphaera.
Water dislodges many surface germs.
After doing the water flow studies, the researchers swabbed the chicken meats’ surface. They found that water flows removed a high proportion of the organisms.
Takeaways
In summary, you can choose to follow the government guidelines and not wash raw chicken meat before cooking. But if you prefer to wash them, remember to do the following to prevent contamination and disease:
- Turn on the water at a low flow rate.
- Avoid the initial splash by putting the chicken under the water only when the water is running.
- Keep the meat at a distance of 15 cm or 6 inches from the faucet.
- Position the chicken part that is rough away from you, so the splash goes the other way.
- Wash everything around the sink with soap and water after handling the chicken. Don’t forget to clean the sponge.
Don’t Get Sick!
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Reference:
Carmody, Caitlin & Müller, Rebecca & Grodner, Benjamin & Chlumsky, Ondrej & Wilking, James & Mccalla, Scott. (2022). Chickensplash! Exploring the Health Concerns of Washing Raw Chicken. Physics of Fluids. 34. 10.1063/5.0083979.
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