This one common kitchen practice could be making your family sick

Do you wash your chicken before you cook it? For a lot of households, washing raw chicken is a normal habit believed to rid the meat of bacteria. But did you know this seemingly harmless practice can actually increase the risk of food-borne illness, and risk your family’s health?

Many people wash their raw chicken to remove germs or sliminess, thinking it will make the meat safer to eat. While it’s true that raw chicken often harbors bacteria like Campylobacter and Salmonella (yuck!), washing it with water doesn’t solve the problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), washing chicken can actually make things worse. The running and splashing water can spread bacteria to your sink, countertops, and even your clothes. The USDA emphasizes that the only reliable way to kill these bacteria is to cook chicken to the proper temperature.

Even professional chefs can’t agree on this one. Julia Child always washed her chicken, but Ina Garten recently said on her show that there’s no need to wash chicken or other meats.

One thing is clear: You DON’T want salmonella poisoning. I caught it once (I think from unwashed lettuce) and I thought I was going to die. I even had to go to the hospital to be rehydrated from losing too many fluids. I guess that means it’s time to stop washing my chicken before I cook it!