Do You Wash Your Meat?

[DDIL]

I have noticed on the tikntok that a lot of people in America wash their meat (both red and white) in bicarb and vinegar!!

The only time I have ever washed any meat product was a chicken that was a few days past its best and it was a bit whiffy so I soaked it in salt water and it was fine.

But reading the comments the Americans seem horrified that we don't wash meat!

[davebro3]

I read somewhere not to wash chicken - it risks spreading any bacteria that would be destroyed anyway during cooking.

[douglas9401]

'Chokes on cornflakes then reads past headline'

[sandyRoe]

Don't they accept lower standards when it comes to food production?

[cassa333]

No. I cook it. The only exception for me is the cheap bacon packs as they tend to be a lot saltier. 

I think in the US they have different production methods and addatives. 

[dave50]

Dont wash any foodstuffs, just cook it and eat it.

[Buenchico]

The Food Standards Agency advises against washing meat:
https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/why-is-cleaning-important

That fits in well with my natural laziness anyway!

(BTW: I totally ignore all 'wash before eating' instructions on the packaging of fruit, salads and vegetables as well).

[davebro3]

ooooo douglas you are awful! but I like you...

[rockyracoon]

Never have I ever washed meat.

[davebro3]

A Spanish friend advised me to wash fruit etc. as the fruit farmers there spray with a lot of chemicals.

[DDIL]

Now Douglas its too early in the morning to think about you washing your meat!!

Thanks everyone - I suspected it was to do with their lower food standards!

[DDIL]

To be honest I don't wash much food stuffs - the exception being the salads and veg that I grow myself and that is because of the slugs hiding in the leaves

[douglas9401]

Took five minutes out to rinse my vegetables and am now off to souse the herring.

Have a nice day.

[ToraToraTora]

I suspect dougles beats it first.

[Khandro]

For Steak Tartare (basic ingredient, raw beef) it's not a bad idea, though it's perhaps an even better idea not to eat it at all !

Though I must say I ate it last year in a restaurant in Switzerland where it was their 'speciality', so I thought it OK and it was excellent. 

[DDIL]

Khandro, in the past when I made tartare I was advised to drop the beef into boiling water for 10 seconds then plunge it into ice water as a way of disinfecting it.

[Old_Geezer]

If you need to wash your meat (joking aside) then your industry food chain or your cooking ability must surely be lacking.

 

No one puts risky to consume stuff on meat that you later need to wash off. (Well maybe the American food industry does with chickens ?) Meat tends to be from inside the animal and thus uninfected until cut, at which time it'll be handled in a way where infection risk is minimised. When it gets to you, you ensure it is cooked properly so any outside planes are sealed and all bacteria dead, and you cook at a sufficient temperature for a sufficiently long time such that any inside carcass is equally bug free.

 

The only time you might consider otherwise, maybe, is probably when indulging in one of those strange raw meat dishes.

[Khandro]

OG, It's not only about bacteria, raw foods including meat can contain tapeworm larvae - quite rare nowadays but still a possibility.

[Old_Geezer]

The thing is that this is meant to be caught at that abattoir and it frozen to death. To say it is quite rare is true, and I would suspect most incidents of finding it in the UK are probably ingested from food eaten in foreign places.

 

Besides nothing is guaranteed, there comes a point when worrying about some miniscule risk and always taking precautions for it is an out of proportion response.

[netherfield]

The thing most likely contaminated would be minced meat, and how would you wash that successfully. And swilling under running water won't get rid of anything nasty lurking in the surface.

[Vagus]

I'm with Chris, I don't wash any foodstuff I buy including meat, salad stuff, fruit of any description, nothing. And I've survived to tell the tale 😁