Don't wash your chicken

They say if meat smells slightly funny, then wash it, if it smells OK after washing then it is fine to cook and eat. (Or they used to say that anyway, apparently not any more - it will probably be recommended again in a few weeks' time!)

Oh how did I raise a family and keep husband fed when I wash all meat and poultry and am an enthusiastic user of Domestos.

I think rosequartz'is right. I see milk is now going to be provided in schools to discourage the children from drinking that nasty unhealthy fruit juice. Do I remember a panic over the fat content of milk? To say nothing of almost universal lactose intolerance.

Hope they keep the milk in fridges (more expense out of the education budget!).

I remember the horrors of being milk monitor, warm milk (ugh) in the summer and frozen out of the tops of the bottles in winter - impossible to get the straws in. But there was a satisfaction in drinking one-third of a pint of milk through a straw from the bottle. (Glass bottles - H&S would have a fit nowadays).

They are apparently going to have semi-skimmed milk, not full-fat. I suppose if they are under 5 someone will be making a fuss and saying they have to have full-fat milk.

Well, I'm 64, my children are in their 40s and I've ALWAYS washed my chicken and other meat under a cold running tap......none of the family have suffered stomach upsets etc etc over the years. Whether it's right or wrong, we need to come into contact with germs from a variety of sources if we are to have an immune system that is healthy.....it has to develop and grow and meet germs in order to function. I'm sure half the problems with children - and their parents - these days is the fact that they are 'too sterile'.....in the kitchen and possibly other ways too. As a young girl, I would go potato/ bean / pea picking during the summer holidays and sit and eat sandwiches with very dirty hands at lunch time because there was no water to wash them in......and I'm very healthy still. Too much interference by Big Brother State, stops people using their common sense ...... and at the end of the day who profits? The companies who make hand wipes, disinfectants, bleaches etc etc.......need I say more. Just think about granny's apron all those years ago, it took things out the oven, wiped aways tears, sometimes snotty noses, grease off working tops etc and it was only washed once a week....and every one still survived!

I agree with most of that pewsey - apart from the dirty hands bit

Dish clothes in the dishwasher gives them a good hot blast.

Thought at first this was a euphemism

OOOH, don't like the sound of granny's apron!

Imagine it the day before washday - it'd be stiff as a board and covered in grease and snot...

To my horror my MiL used to 'set' her meat in hot weather. This entailed half cooking it then removing it from the oven.

I once dared to say perhaps this was not such a good idea but what did I know? I was 'just a bit of a kid' in those days.

How she didn't kill her family off remains a mystery to me.

Whenever I have been out walking I never really bothered about washing my hands first apart from contact with cow or sheep poo.

I just eat my sandwiches without bothering to clean hands. I have never worried about possible muck on stiles etc. However I hate having food on my fingers and always want to clean my hands after eating.

Last Sunday, my exH had friends and my ds and family, at his home, for a bbq.
He made a spicy marinade for the chicken, and after putting the chicken on the bbq, he used the marinade to make a dip, by mixing it with some creme fraiche!
My ds was off work with bad d&v, dil was not well either. Don't know about any others!

Did he(ex) care? Not one bit!!

Lona!

Obviously they didn't notice what he was doing!

Hope he had d&v as well.

I suspect that the incidence of contamination of chickens is now probably greater, hence the need for more care.

The argument that we have always washed it and we have survived does not wash (sorry!) - it's a bit like saying your auntie lived to 94 and smoked 30 a day, so it must be OK to do that!

The same could apply to those who have never washed their chickens. I'd have thought basic hygiene awareness was more important - raw meat can and does contaminate surfaces with bacteria. And your hands.

I can't believe that a thread about washing chickens [or not] has managed to go so long.

Lona, do you think he did it on purpose?
Good reason for being vegetarian.
I haven't washed a chicken for over 35 years!

I wouldn't think Lona's ex's ignorance of using chicken equates to him trying to poison his son! Nor is it a good reason to become vegetarian, that is just personal choice you either want to be or you don't.

I get your point now durhamjen! You are vegetarian, your choice. I will never be vegetarian, my choice.

Just for the record, I have never washed a chicken!

I often wonder about the things we don't see. My daughter worked as a waitron in a cafe when she was in high school - and came home after the first day, couldn't wait to tell us, "Guess what, if people don't eat the garnish ( of lettuce and tomato) it gets transferred to the next plate". Since then when I eat out and I see garnish that looks slightly wilted, I always think of that.

I don't wash chicken! Or meat! My family never get ill from food poisoning! I do wash my hands especially after I've been on the bus or the tube or to the loo! But I have been known to wipe my hands on my clothes e.g. when out hiking and settle down to a sandwich!