I was wondering if meat and chicken get cooked well, do we need to wash our hands before handling it?
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4You should always wash your hands before handling food...– Fl.pf.Commented Dec 14, 2017 at 12:47
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It doesn't hurt to wash and it might help. Why not? I'm never in so much of a hurry that I can't wash my hands and it's a very good habit to be in– Paul TIKICommented Dec 14, 2017 at 21:03
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2 Answers
Well, nothing is mandatory as long as you are cooking for yourself.
If you are cooking in a commercial setting, there are clear guidelines on hygiene, including washing hands before handling food.
There can be a lot of things on your hands that you might not want to go on your plate, including the dust after cleaning the house.
- So if you are cooking for other people, I’d consider it a basic courtesy to work with clean, i.e. washed hands.
- If you are cooking for yourself and if you think it’s superfluous, feel free to act as you see fit. Let me suggest a test if you think about skipping the initial hand washing: Would you lick your hands without batting an eye?
The overall effort of washing ones hands is so small, during the time you are pondering the question, you could easily have washed and dried them. And if you remember that washing hands is the easiest way to prevent colds, stomach viruses and other infections, the first stop when arriving home after a day at the office or in town should be your bathroom sink anyway.
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I already wash them before and after. I was wondering only if since washing the meat/pultry is not recommended before cooking since it it will be cooked (and does not help) if the same applies to handwashing before cooking meat/pultry– JimCommented Dec 14, 2017 at 8:22
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2The reason washing poultry is discouraged is because during washing you risk contaminating the surrounding areas because of splashing water. The tiny droplets can carry pathogens with them. It’s not about “not cleaning” the meat. We have a Q/A on that which I can link to later.– Stephie ♦Commented Dec 14, 2017 at 8:57
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Yes.
Just because (among tons of hygienic resons) you will touch meat that will have juices, blood, fat ...
You would not want to go out and interact with people with dirty hands would you ?
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5I might be misunderstanding your answer, but... the OP is presumably still washing after touching the meat, and not going out with meat juice on their hands. The question was about whether it's necessary to wash before touching the meat.– Cascabel ♦Commented Dec 13, 2017 at 21:28
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Yes I am only asking before touching the meat/poultry. The after is common sense to wash them. I was wondering if I the before is also mandatory– JimCommented Dec 13, 2017 at 21:31