Don’t wash raw chicken is the advice from Brentwood Borough Council’s environmental health team. The advice comes as part of the Food Standard Agency’s national campaign during Food Safety Week.

Washing raw chicken can spread campylobacter which is the most common cause of food poisoning in the UK, affecting an estimated 280,000 people a year. Around four in five of these cases come from contaminated poultry. The resulting illness can cause abdominal pain, severe diarrhoea and vomiting. In certain cases, it can lead to irritable bowel syndrome, reactive arthritis and Guillain-Barré syndrome, a serious condition of the nervous system. At its worst, it can kill. Those most at risk are children under five and older people.

When you wash the chicken any splashes could spread campylobacter on to other surfaces, other food, your skin, your clothing and equipment which can lead to serious illness. You can’t see it, smell it or even taste it on food, but if it affects you, you won’t forget it.

The fight against Campylobacter is at the centre of this year’s Food Safety Week (16-22 June).

Research by the Food Standards Agency in 2012 indicates that more than a third of consumers always wash raw poultry (including chicken and turkey) and more than half admitted to washing it at least some of the time.

The advice to help keep yourself and your family safe from food poisoning is:

Make sure the fridge temperature is running below 5⁰C
Store raw poultry at the bottom of the fridge and properly wrap or cover it to avoid raw juices contaminating other foods
Always cook chicken thoroughly until it is steaming hot in the middle, clear running juices and no pink bits. This will kill any harmful bacteria that may be present.
Wash hands and used utensils after preparing raw chicken with hot soapy water to avoid cross contamination – chopping boards and knives etc.

Brentwood Borough Council’s Chair of the Environment Committee, Councillor William Lloyd, said: “It’s important that we do our part to make sure that people know how to handle and cook food safely for themselves and for their families. We’re proud to be keeping people in Brentwood safe and well by being part of this campaign to spread the word – and not the germs”.

For more food safety tips and advice please visit www.food.gov.uk/chicken