Should You Wash Raw Meat? Food Safety Tips to Prevent Cross-Contamination

When I first moved from the northern Midwest, I was not familiar with the practice of washing meat. I found it interesting that people would go through the effort of washing their meat when most meat purchased was already processed. Historically, the practice of washing meat developed due to a lack of industrialized food processing. In the pre-food processing era, freshly slaughtered meat was washed to remove any pathogens and inedible materials from the meat. Even with the development of food processing and packaging, some cultures hold fast to the practice of washing raw meat. With this guide, I will discuss the recommendation not to wash your meat.

While some of the methods of cleaning meat are simply rinsing it with water, other methods are more involved, such as citrus fruits, vinegar, or salt brine. The use of these products is due to their acidic nature and is considered a way to kill bacteria. These more involved methods serve multiple purposes, though; they are not only used to clean the meat but this practice is also used for flavoring and tenderizing. This is an indirect way that certain cultures have developed signature flavors in their dishes. Whether the practice is cultural or taught by family members, continuing to wash raw meat can increase food safety risks if necessary measures for safety are not met.

Why Experts Recommend Against Rinsing

The risk behind washing meat is not anything it does to the meat; it is the bacteria and food-borne pathogens known to be on raw meat. These pathogens can be spread throughout your kitchen and cause cross-contamination. When this happens, kitchen surfaces and other foods being prepared are exposed. Some methods of “washing” meat that involve soaking meats in vinegar, citrus fruits, or brine are safe if confined within a container. A container or gallon-sized storage bag is often used for “cleaning” or what could be considered marinating/tenderizing. Once the meat is cooked, the container and juices should be disposed of or cleaned/sterilized.

Safe Meat Handling Practices: Key Steps to Prevent Cross-Contamination

By practicing safe food handling measures, you can prevent food-borne illness and reduce the risk of cross-contamination. One way is to make sure you are using separate utensils, dishes, and cutting boards when working with raw and cooked food. Never use the same kitchen items for both raw and cooked foods, as this creates a high-risk situation for spreading pathogens. 

Another method for ensuring food safety is always cooking your meat to the proper temperature. This will ensure all pathogens are killed and negate the need to wash your meat. I know it is hard to change habits, and I am not trying to refute what your grandmother taught you. My goal is to offer a guide on expert recommendations to keep your family and kitchen as safe as possible when preparing meals. I have included an infographic on proper cooking temperatures for various types of meat/animal proteins.

A simple and easy way to check the internal temperature of your meat is to get a food thermometer. This is a handy tool to keep in the kitchen, as it leaves no guesswork in determining if your food is cooked to the proper temperature. A digital thermometer is the easiest, and finding one that is pre-calibrated can save you some time and effort.  

Beyond the Sink: Other Food Safety Tips

Where there is beauty in maintaining cultural practices throughout generations, washing meat with plain water in the same sink you wash dishes in can lead to very risky outcomes. Sticking with practices that soak meat in the form of juice, brine, or marinade would be a better practice to preserve. Food safety goes beyond the sink, though. Of course, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t mention the importance of hand washing before, during, and after meal preparation. This is a huge way to prevent cross-contamination. 

Food storage practices and surface disinfecting are the final two thoughts I will leave you with. Like cooking, food safety guidelines exist for storing raw and cooked meat. Depending on whether you are keeping it in the refrigerator or storing it in the freezer for future use, it is important to know how long food should be stored. You can access a very helpful PDF on the foodsafety.gov website as a helpful guide. Lastly, disinfecting the surface areas of your kitchen is always a good practice to prevent cross-contamination. Whether you use Clorox wipes or vinegar, both are effective ways to remove any harmful pathogens that may have resulted from raw meat. 

Continuing to include cultural or regional practices will allow you to incorporate where you are from into the food you make. However, the best way to ensure your meat is clean is not by rinsing or washing it. It is by cooking it to the proper temperature and using other safe food handling practices. You can continue to express your heritage through flavor, cooking methods, and using recipes that have been passed down from loved ones.  After all, when food is made with love, it always tastes better. If you have any other tips, please feel free to share them in the comments section below!

1. _{Food Safety and Inspection Service. Illnesses and Pathogens | Food Safety and Inspection Service. (n.d.). https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/foodborne-illness-and-disease/illnesses-and-pathogens} 
2. _{U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Cold food storage charts. FoodSafety.gov. https://www.foodsafety.gov/food-safety-charts/cold-food-storage-charts} 
3. _{U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). FoodSafety.gov. https://www.foodsafety.gov/}