It’s safe to say that chicken is America’s favorite meat. However, each year around 1.2 million people in America contract a foodborne illness like salmonella from cross-contamination with items including raw chicken and eggs.
As tailgating season heats up and the holidays continue to creep around the corner, knowing how to properly handle uncooked chicken protects your dinner guests safe from foodborne illnesses. Check out our quick guide to handling raw chicken.
- If you plan to pick up a pack of chicken at the grocery store, place it in a disposable bag to prevent it from cross-contaminating other items in your cart.
- Wash your hands with warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling raw chicken. Want an easy tip for making sure you’ve washed your hands for the proper amount of time? Sing the happy birthday song to yourself as you wash!
- Never, ever wash uncooked chicken. The juices can spread across the kitchen and contaminate countertops, the sink and other items present.
- Use a separate cutting board for raw chicken.
- Never, ever place foods or anything else on a surface that contained raw chicken.
- Wash countertops, cutting boards, dishes, utensils and any other item touched by raw chicken in warm, soapy water.
- Always use a food thermometer to ensure you cook chicken at a safe temperature of at least 165℉.
- Never eat undercooked chicken.
- Store leftover cooked chicken within two hours of serving, or one hour if the temperature outdoors is over 90 degrees.
- Don’t forget to clean your grill after cooking chicken. This piece of cooking equipment often gets looked over during cleanup which often leads to heavy consequences later.
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