Should You Wash Your Turkey Before Cooking It? Food Safety Experts Weigh In

Some of the most trusted habits in the kitchen are also the hardest to break, even when science says otherwise. Food safety researchers have spent years trying to convince home cooks that one popular prep step should be retired for good.

It's all over the culinary corner of social media and the internet at large: washing chicken or turkey before seasoning and cooking it. At face value, the practice seems harmless and may even create the illusion that the poultry is now "cleaner" and "safer" to eat.

However, food experts and scientists beg to differ. Back in 2019, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a study revealing that people who washed their poultry were actually putting themselves at risk of illness.

"Cooking and mealtime is a special occasion for all of us as we come together with our families and friends," said Dr. Mindy Brashears, the USDA's Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety. "However, the public health implications of these findings should be of concern to everyone."

"Even when consumers think they are effectively cleaning after washing poultry, this study shows that bacteria can easily spread to other surfaces and food," Brashears continued. "The best practice is not to wash poultry."

Despite the findings, the habit has stuck around. "If your mother did it and your grandmother did it, and suddenly the (government) says not to wash your turkey, you may take some time to adjust," said Drusilla Banks, who teaches food sanitation for the University of Illinois Extension.

According to Banks, the USDA's advice against washing raw poultry is relatively new and may not have caught on because it contradicts the deep-rooted belief that washing makes things clean.

Benjamin Chapman, a study author and food safety expert at North Carolina State University, noted that the urge to rinse raw poultry goes back decades, to an era when people leaned on visual cues to tell whether their meat was in good condition.

Illness-causing germs are commonly found in the guts of perfectly healthy poultry, and they're legally allowed to be present on raw chicken and turkey. The thinking is that no one eats their poultry undercooked, and that cooking it thoroughly will wipe out any bacteria.

Still, preparing a meal involves plenty of moving parts, and germs from poultry can travel around the kitchen even when the bird never sees the sink, particularly once it's taken out of its packaging.

That's what makes cleaning and sanitizing hands, utensils, and surfaces even more important, a point the USDA-funded study drives home.

The observational study's findings highlighted just how quickly bacteria can travel when surfaces aren't thoroughly cleaned and sanitized. To lower the risk of illness when handling poultry or meat at home, the USDA suggests three simple steps:

1. Prepare any foods that won't be cooked, such as salads and vegetables, BEFORE you start handling raw meat and poultry. This keeps ready-to-eat dishes away from potential contamination, and washing your hands before and after touching food adds an extra layer of protection.
2. Thoroughly clean and sanitize ANY surface that may have come into contact with raw meat, poultry, or their juices. Start by scrubbing sinks and countertops with hot, soapy water, then follow up with a sanitizer to finish the job.
3. Kill harmful bacteria by cooking meat and poultry to a safe internal temperature, using a food thermometer to check. Rinsing or soaking raw poultry in water, vinegar, or lemon juice won't destroy germs, so if there's something you want to remove, simply pat the area with a damp paper towel and wash your hands right away.

Old habits may die hard, but when it comes to raw poultry, the expert consensus is clear: skip the sink and let the heat do the work.

A reliable food thermometer, a freshly sanitized countertop, and a thorough hand scrub will do far more to keep the dinner table safe than any rinse ever could.