A few years ago the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) advised Cook the chicken meat well to avoid semi-raw parts and do not wash it beforehand., since it does not serve to eliminate possible bacteria that could cause poisoning. In fact, it can even make it easier to distribute around the kitchen.

This organization issued a series of recommendations when cooking this meat after conducting a study with 42 chicken samples to detect possible hygiene problems and the presence of antibiotics or pathogenic bacteria, capable of causing food poisoning such as ‘Salmonella’, ‘Campylobacter’, ‘Listeria’ or ‘E.Coli’.

Regarding the presence of psychrotrophic bacteria, whose number is a general indicator of hygiene, the results were acceptable in most samples. But although no serious problems were detected in the analysis of pathogenic bacteria, 88 percent showed the presence of ‘Campylobacter’.

This bacteria is frequently implicated in food poisoning in Europe and poses risks of infection if chicken meat is not cooked enough or handled incorrectly. However, the OCU warns, fortunately the bacteria dies easily at cooking temperature and if proper precautions are taken there will be no problem.