Should You Or Should You Not Wash The Meat?

It is a common knowledge to wash and clean the food before consuming them. This is especially true to fresh fruits and vegetables that may have soil attached to them than those pre-packed from the grocery. Washing them not only remove soil, pesticide, and other residues, but doing so also eliminates germs that may cause illnesses. However, it has been wondered if rinsing raw meat like poultry also works positively. Should you or should you not wash the meat?

The pandemic COVID-19, which still affects globe, has encouraged people to be more careful these days. One concern that has been raised lately is the virus’ ability to be transmitted through food or food packaging—although this hasn’t been proven true yet.

The best practice for washing fruits and vegetables is using cool water if you intend to consume them immediately. If you are not to eat them right away, they shouldn’t be washed. Washing only to store them is useless since you are giving more time for microorganisms to grow. Much worse if stored is an environment that’s favorable to them.

Now back to the main question here.

Should you wash the meat?

A big no. Meat is definitely a big exception.

At first, it seems like a very obvious choice to wash the meat before cooking, especially that cooking subjects the meat to high temperature killing the harmful bacteria in the process. Though it may sound bad, it isn’t necessary to wash the meat before cooking.

Unlike before, meat products are now processed in a hygienic processing area that further cleaning in the kitchen is no longer required. All this thanks to the modern food industry that we have today.

What could happen when the meat is washed?

The majority of households still believe that washing meat is necessary since it removes microorganisms and the unwanted like blood, fat, and slime.

When the meat is washed, some bacteria may splash to kitchen utensils like chopping boards and surfaces like countertops that may come into contact with other food items and contaminate them in the process. This undesirable result is called cross-contamination. Food poisoning is even more likely when washing meat near ready-to-eat food items.

If not necessary, what now?

Modern technology, especially in the meat processing industry has allowed us to simplify our lives. Thanks to technological advances, we no long have to wash raw meat. However, that doesn’t mean we should stop there. The main factor the USDA is looking at when preparing and cooking meat is temperature control. High enough temperature kills bacteria, especially the food borne-illness causing bacteria or the pathogens.

Make sure to use a calibrated thermometer to accurately measure the temperature of the meat during cooking. Check out this How to calibrate a food thermometer post. There are safe minimum cooking temperature requirements depending on the type of meat. These tell that the meat is already hot enough to kill the harmful bacteria that cause food poisoning. Check out the table below.