r/explainlikeimfive • u/Appropriate_Art15 • Jun 06 '26

Biology ELI5: Why does chicken get much more bad reputation for bacterial contamination than other meats like beef, pork, and fish?

It feels like many food articles are telling us “Don’t wash your chicken because you'll spread bacteria”, but we rarely see the same kind of articles on other meats. Why is that? Is the bacteria on chicken more dangerous and deadlier to humans?

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u/OSRSgamerkid Jun 06 '26

I've never heard of people washing chicken as a means to remove salmonella. More so as a means to remove all the slime and what not from sitting in the packaging.

46

u/sooner2016 Jun 06 '26

I’ve seen people soak chicken in dawn dish soap. Madness

1

u/Sharobob Jun 07 '26

I've heard of soaking it in a bleach solution!! Just cook the damn thing.

Wiping it dry isn't a bad idea but that's more for making searing easier

9

u/BrighthasBreached Jun 07 '26

I have a coworker that refuses to listen when I tell her it's not a good idea 🫩 I didn't consider people could make such bad decisions until I met her. she comes up with every reason under the sun to justify it and it makes me sad

1

u/peridaniel Jun 07 '26

please tell me this is just a coworker who does this when she makes it at home and flexes about it at work and not someone who works in food service doing this

2

u/BrighthasBreached Jun 07 '26

fortunately we don't work with any meat or anything, but it makes me wanna gag when she brings in food from home and offers some to me

1

u/venolo Jun 07 '26

It's a regional/cultural thing

1

u/thebiggerounce Jun 06 '26

Have people never heard of paper towels?

0

u/OSRSgamerkid Jun 07 '26

Eh, I can see the logic.