It’s an old wives’ tale that just won’t die: the idea that you should wash your meat and poultry before cooking it. In the newest Meat MythCrusher video, the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) and American Meat Science Association (AMSA) seek to finally put it to rest, as Jonathan Campbell, Ph.D., meat extension specialist at Penn State University, explains the reasons why washing meat and poultry before cooking it is a poor food safety practice.
“From a food safety standpoint it’s a bad idea because we can potentially spread the bacteria that are on the meat to all other areas of our kitchen,” said Dr. Campbell. “That makes the food safety hazard even worse.”