North Carolina State University has conducted a study aimed at assessing the impact of washing poultry on kitchen contamination. As a result of the study, researchers found that more than 25% percent of participants contaminated salad with raw poultry, including many participants who didn't wash the poultry. The study showed the importance of hand-washing, as well as cleaning and sanitizing the kitchen, in order to reduce the risk of foodborne illness when cooking at home. 

Currently, washing raw poultry isn't recommended, due to concerns about possibly contaminating other foods and surfaces. However, this increases the risk of foodborne illness.

“We wanted to know what effect an educational intervention would have on getting people to stop washing poultry before cooking, and what effect any resulting change in behavior might have on reducing contamination in the kitchen,” says Ellen Shumaker, corresponding author of the study and an extension associate at North Carolina State University. “We also wanted to get a better idea of how, if at all, washing poultry actually led to increased contamination in the kitchen.”

Read the full article here. 

Source: North Carolina State University