Why do chickens contain so much harmful bacteria?
Pheasants, which I think are in the same family you can eat nearly raw, ditto pigeons, though obviously they're a different kind of bird.
Is there an evolutionary reason for chickens to have all that bacteria?
As an aside do you wash your chickens? Cos a woman on the TV said you're not meant for fear of cross-contamination.
Danny xxx
I've been eating chicken breasts every dinner for the past 5 years (literally, this is part of my bodybuilding diet), and I've never had any problem: no stomach cramps, no vomiting, no abnormal diarrhea.
I usually buy my breasts pre-cut and pre-seasoned at a local market. I'm not sure if they're pre-washed during the process, but if you cook them thoroughly 1-2 days after purchasing them (as I do), you most probably won't have any problem.
I've also conserved plenty of chicken in my freezer for a few months (I still do), and by following the same directives (cooking them 1-2 days after unfreezing them), it never led to any alimentary infection.
Cooking kills the majority of the bacterias, I believe. I simply cook mine in batches of 3.0 lbs in the oven while adding just a bit of water: 350°F for an hour.
I've never got sick from eating chicken, but everyone I know washes it thoroughly on a cleaning surface by itself and cooks it thoroughly. The thought of biting into some chicken and finding pink is disgusting to me.
You also don't want any pink in hamburger meat. Can I say Mad Cow Disease? (And didn't that develop by feeding meat byproducts to cows?)
Don't forget it's also important to wash vegetables, especially leafy vegetables like lettuce because E. coli could very easily be present trapped in the damp folds on the surface.
I got food poisoning from boiled shrimp before. I'll not mention the disgusting results. That was miserable and I had to go to the ER.
I never wash my chicken (or rarely). cooking properly will kill any germs. And OMK is right, the contamination comes from how they are bred. Whole Foods sells only Amish free range chickens and their level of contamination is considerably lower. I also very rarely wash my leafy vegetables (ashamed to admit) and I can't remember anytime when I have had an illness due to food poisoning. I think people these days are overly conscious about bacteria, and therefore don't have the natural defenses to fight things off. Aside from 2011 where I was sick on and off most of that year, I rarely have anything worse than a cold.
Why do chickens contain so much harmful bacteria?
I have always been told white meat - Chicken- Fish etc can deteriorate far quicker than red meat.
Not sure if that is true but it may be.
Bi curious, some and perv
Chickens are nasty animals. I grew up on a farm where one of my daily chores was to feed the chickens and gather the eggs. As a result, I do not eat chicken...except hot wings, and I do not eat eggs...disgusting! I often wonder who was the first person to see a eggs pop out of a chicken's ass and decide that was something good to eat.
