Keeping Meat Near The Tap Under A Steady Flow Of Water Reduces The Risk Of……..

Physicists say keeping meat near the tap under a steady flow of water reduces the risk of bacteria spreading – as salmonella scare sweeps the UK.

Both the NHS in the UK and the FDA in the US advise against washing raw chicken, but recent research has shown that 25 per cent of people still do.

Washing can spread harmful bacteria from the chicken to other food or utensils in the kitchen and can put you at risk of food poisoning.

‘Lots of people think they should wash raw chicken, but there’s no need,’ said food hygiene expert Adam Hardgrave. ‘Any germs on it will be killed if you cook it thoroughly.’

The study comes amid a nationwide salmonella scare that has forced major retailers including Tesco, Pret a Manger and Marks & Spencer to remove products from their shelves.

Washing can spread harmful bacteria from the chicken to other food or utensils in the kitchen and can put you at risk of food poisoning. However, if you insist on washing your chicken, new research has revealed the safest way to do so.

In the study, the researchers set out to understand the safest way to wash raw chicken.

‘The Food and Drug Administration recommends against washing raw chicken due to the risk of transferring dangerous food-borne pathogens through splashed drops of water,’ they wrote in their study, published in Physics of Fluid,

‘Many cooks continue to wash raw chicken despite this warning, however, and there is a lack of scientific research assessing the extent of microbial transmission in splashed droplets.’

The researchers placed raw chicken under running taps and monitored the spray of water and bacteria to nearby surfaces.

The results showed that when the chicken was placed 15.7 inches (40cm) below the tap, droplets of water splashed 8.6 inches (22cm).

However, when the chicken was placed 6 inches (15cm) below the tap, droplets splashed just 2 inches (5cm).

The flow of water also influenced the spread of water droplets.

When the tap was turned on with the chicken already below it, the initial burst of water sent droplets flying.

However, when the chicken was placed under the tap when the water was already flowing, the splash of droplets was reduced.

Overall, the findings suggest that if you insist on washing raw chicken, you should keep the meat near the tap under a steady flow of water.

It’s also important to thoroughly clean any nearby surfaces, and keep any other raw foods away from the sink.

‘Take particular care to keep raw food away from ready-to-eat foods such as bread, salad and fruit,’ the NHS advises.

‘These foods won’t be cooked before you eat them so any germs that get on to them won’t be killed.’

The study comes amid a nationwide salmonella scare, that has forced major retailers to remove more than 100 products from their shelves.

Officials at the Food Standards Agency (UKFSA) have released a comprehensive list of products believed to have been caught up in the contamination scare, which follows an outbreak at the gigantic Cranswick food processing plant in Hull.

Cranswick, which bills itself as a producer of 160 tonnes a day of gourmet cooked chicken for sandwiches and meals, says the salmonella was detected during a ‘routine internal inspection’.

The products feared to be contaminated appear to have use by dates of May 11, 12 and 13, and tonnes of food have now been seized and binned.

The Food Standards Agency has advised people with products in the fridge not to eat them.