Facts

• The major danger of practicing poor kitchen hygiene is contracting salmonella and campylobacter jejuni, the two pathogens responsible for most of the food-borne illnesses associated with raw chicken. At worst, after contracting salmonella or campylobacter jejuni food poisoning, you die. At best, you can look forward to four to seven days of diarrhea so severe you need inpatient care. Campylobacter jejuni and salmonella pathogens love clinging to your hands almost as much as they do chicken. When you consider these two pathogens are responsible for 1,872,585 instances of foodborne illness each year, according to the University of Wisconsin Extension, you understand why proper hand washing plays just as important a role in food safety as proper cooking does.

Myths

• Because washing usually equals cleaning, or because rinsing removes the milky liquid chicken sometimes has on it when it comes out of the package, rinsing your chicken seems like a smart choice. When raw chicken sits in a package for a few hours, it releases a small amount of moisture, called purge. Purge consists of amino acids and water, nothing raw chicken doesn't already have. According to researchers from the University of Georgia, raw chicken carcasses rinsed 40 times still have bacteria on their surface. Furthermore, even if you succeed in rinsing off the bacteria, it has to go somewhere, most likely splashing onto another kitchen surface, which results in cross-contamination. Don't rinse chicken before cooking it, since any bacteria you remove just finds another home.

Cross-Contamination

• Cross-contamination occurs when bacteria transfers between foods, usually with dirty knives, cutting boards and -- you guessed it -- unclean hands acting as the vehicle. Your hands do a better job of contaminating other foods -- and your body-- with bacteria than knives do because of all the tiny wrinkles, grooves and crevices they have, especially under the fingernails. Just as you diligently wash your knives and sanitize them in bleach water for 15 minutes after they come in contact with raw chicken, you have to clean your hands using a comprehensive, thorough method of hand washing.

Hand-Washing Method

• Wet your hands and under the fingernails with warm running water and lather them up with soap for at least 20 seconds -- no less. Lather your hands front and back to your wrists. Dry your hands with paper towels or a clean kitchen towel. Don't limit hand washing to only raw chicken, though. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends washing your hands after touching raw meat, fish, after using the bathroom, and after changing a diaper or touching a pet. But as a general rule, don't change diapers or play with your pets when you're preparing food.