[Springlands]

I have always rinsed chicken, fish or meat before cooking (except mince obviously) but recently noticed the print on the bag containing fresh fish from Tesc*'s which stated that fish, chicken or meat should not be washed due to the risk of cross contamination.

What do other peeps do - although I do rinse before cooking I always make sure that I wash down the kitchen tops and taps with antibac stuff.

[mumofstig]

I don't understand their reasoning there, it's baffled me 

I don't usually rinse meat, but wash (and descale) fish as it seems a bit slimey otherwise 

[arugula]

I don't wash meat, nor pre-packed fish. I only wash (and descale) fish that has been caught and delivered to me before I prep, fillet or whatever I'm going to do with it.

[GrannieAnnie]

My Mum used to wash everything, including mince     You can imagine what her shepherd's pie used to look like!   

I usually rinse joints of meat, especially if Brian has killed the animal!  But mostly not as the high heats from cooking things kills the bacteria anyway.

[spottymint]

They are worried that people will wash the meat, splash infected water onto surfaces or drip it on the work surface & not clean it up properly.

Just wiping it with a tea towel will spread bacteria about onto other items via the now infected cloth. If not cleaned or heated the bacteria will spread & cause illness.

I never wash meat, just cook it, if cooked properly, the heat will kill any bacteria, so no need to wash it off.

I do wash trout, the "so called" trained fishmonger in store, is not as good as me & I'm not trained, but I know guts/poo when it see it. 

[mumofstig]

They are worried that people will wash the meat, splash infected water onto surfaces or drip it on the work surface & not clean it up properly.

isn't it just as easily spread from the plastic bags they sell the stuff in 

[Trillium]

There's an interesting article about that that addresses most of the health concerns.  HERE

Part of the non-washing thinking is that there is already a protective layer on the chicken that shouldn't be washed off prior to cooking. But these days, with most chickens processed at mega farms and handled by so many other people, I think the bigger risk can come from the processing line somewhere, perhaps from someone who scratched their chin with safety gloves on, or the person who handled the packaging who might have touched a bag/container to something unclean or they had the flu that day, etc.

Water washing simply can't remove any form of bacteria/virus/whatever that  lands on the meat skin which is the main point. And I suspect few of us have pristine clean counters and sinks to deal with meat handling.

But if you consider our ancestors, who didn't have things like bleach, vinyl gloves, etc, they managed just fine by toughing it out. So where do we draw the line?

[spottymint]

They are worried that people will wash the meat, splash infected water onto surfaces or drip it on the work surface & not clean it up properly.

isn't it just as easily spread from the plastic bags they sell the stuff in 

As you say, any juices from the packaging could also contaminate the work surface.

Just like it can contaminate your re-usable shopping bag ! 

The latest thinking is, the re-usable carrier bag is a great place for dirt, grime & germs to lurk. 

[mumofstig]

The latest thinking is, the re-usable carrier bag is a great place for dirt, grime & germs to lurk

use washable ones 

[Auntiemogs]

I never wash mine, just make sure that everything is thoroughly cooked at a high temperature. 

I am very careful and always have some hot water in the sink with a good sploosh of bleach.  Anything I use that comes in to contact with the meat gets put in there and all the surfaces are given a good wipe down. 

[Springlands]

Thanks for all of the replies - think I will just keep on rinsing and making sure that I disinfect the surfaces afterwards. 

[Mrs Bee]

i am a bit of a splosher in the kitchen, especially when brining meat meat and poultry before roasting so once everything is washed and in a brine. I do a thorough clean with hot soapy water and spray with a milton solution and leave for 15 mins while i get a cuppa from the dining room.

As I have to gut, descale and clean all our fish, which we now get by the box from Billingsgate, I wash the fish after cleaning.

I do rinse all meat and poultey before cooking too, but am very careful about cross contamination and do a thorough clean of all surfaces afterwards. I doo all my meat prep at the sink but clean all surfaces afterwards to be on the safe side.

[GrannieAnnie]

They are worried that people will wash the meat, splash infected water onto surfaces or drip it on the work surface & not clean it up properly.

isn't it just as easily spread from the plastic bags they sell the stuff in 

Can't remember where I read it now, but it was when we were doing the meat chickens, but they were saying about the amount of campylobactor that was found on the outside of the plastic bags they put chickens and turkeys in.