RE: Re: ....... poultry should not be washed or rinsed ?????

[Guest guest]

Tony: how can this be? If cooking the meat kills any previous

contamination , then handling it one more time won't matter .

And if your hands get contaminated by washing the meat, then why don't they

say outright: " Don't handle the meat - use a utensil to transfer to pan and

then be sure and wash that utensil " - or some such warning (#2 below).

on 2/7/2005 1:42 PM, citpeks at citpeks@... wrote:

>

> Sorry, I press send too soon for Message 17478.

>

> The quote comes directly from the government's guidelines. There are

> two points of view IMO:

>

> 1) You can contaminate the meat more by handling it and washing it

> than by cooking it straight from the wrapper.

>

> 2) Your hands can get contaminated with any bacteria that is on the

> meat. The bacteria in your hands can then make you sick.

>

> I think that the 2nd possibility is the reason for the advice. If you

> don't wash the meat, your hands don't get contaminated and the

> bacteria will be killed by cooking. If you wash the meat, the bacteria

> on the meat will stay in your hands for a long time and will make it

> possible for you to contaminate other food. There is no easy way of

> killing the bacteria in your hands that is gentle to the skin.

>

> Tony

>

> http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/html/executivesummary

> .htm

>

[Guest guest]

I concur. If the govt is worried that salad or other food is in the sink

and will be contaminated if the meat is washed, WHY DON'T THEY SAY SO? For

example: " if rinsing the meat, be sure that no other foodstuffs or

utensils, sponges, etc. come in contact with the rinse water which may

contain pathogens " .

Also, those of us careful enough to rinse meat or poultry surely have

thought about this and most likely are careful about contamination. It

seems only logical that people who don't rinse are probably the ones who

might contaminate, not the rinsers. Just MO.

on 2/8/2005 9:52 AM, citpeks at citpeks@... wrote:

>

> Several of us have expressed surprise at what seems like ridiculous

> advice from a government organization. I realize that if you are

> handling meat contaminated with bacteria (salmonella, etc) then the

> chances of cross-contamination and possible infection increase

> substantially when you wash or rinse the meat. However, on further

> reflection, the advice STILL seems ridiculous.

[Guest guest]

I'm not sure what the big deal is. We have received clarification and the

original advice to be generous was poorly (and narrowly)

stated. For the specific case where you buy raw meat pre-butchered, you probably

reduce risk of cross contamination by handling as

little as possible. If you must handle, cleaning first reduces the amount of

contamination available to spread around.

When in doubt use your common sense, that's what it's for.

FWIW, I buy stew beef precut. Reduces my prep time and I don't mind not handling

the raw meat. I find food prep for eating healthier

has become somewhat time consuming so any and all time savers are appreciated.

If it reduces risk of cross contamination all the

better.

JR

-----Original Message-----

From: citpeks [mailto:citpeks@...]

Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2005 8:53 AM

Subject: [ ] Re: ....... poultry should not be washed or

rinsed " ?????

Several of us have expressed surprise at what seems like ridiculous

advice from a government organization. I realize that if you are

handling meat contaminated with bacteria (salmonella, etc) then the

chances of cross-contamination and possible infection increase

substantially when you wash or rinse the meat. However, on further

reflection, the advice STILL seems ridiculous.

Let us say that you want to cook a stew. You buy some meat (with

bacterial contamination) that needs to be cut into pieces suitable for

the stew. You get your cutting board and your knife. You cut your

meat and your vegetables, and start cooking your stew. Now you have

to clean up. Aren't the cutting board, the knife, and your hands

contaminated by the bacteria? Are these less contaminated than if

you washed or rinsed the meat before? I don't think so.

The reason why not washing or rinsing the meat appears to be

nonsensical advice is because it is nonsensical. It would have been

better to suggest using different cutting boards for meat and for

vegetables, washing hands and utensils thoroughly after handling meat,

handling fresh vegetables before handling meat, or many other

suggestions that would have made better sense.

Tony

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