CDC Official Says Americans Shouldn’t Wash Their Thanksgiving Turkeys

People shop for frozen turkeys at a grocery store in Mount Prospect, Ill., on Nov. 17, 2021. Nam Y. Huh/AP Photo

It’s not only unnecessary but it can be very unhealthy to “wash” a turkey during Thanksgiving, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other health officials have advised—again.

“Washing raw turkey can spread germs to other food,” the agency said in a notice issued several weeks ago.

The advisory is being sent out, the agency said, because a 2020 survey found that 78 percent of respondents “reported washing or rinsing a turkey before cooking.”

“Old recipes and family cooking traditions” may be the reason for the trend, the advisory said, but the practice can “make you and your family sick” because raw poultry juice can “contaminate other foods, utensils, and countertops.”

“I would caution that sometimes just because our grandparents or parents did something a certain way doesn’t mean it is the safe way to do something,” Brigette Gleason, medical epidemiologist for the CDC’s Enteric Disease Epidemiology Branch, said in an article published by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)  this past week.

She added that the CDC has “seen surveys where people will say, ‘Well, I wash my turkey because that’s what my mom did.’ But actually, washing your turkey is a high-risk activity.”

“There is no need to wash your turkey,” Kali Kneil, professor of microbial food safety at the University of Delaware, told Yahoo this past week. “You risk splashing bacteria on other surfaces in the kitchen or spreading bacteria around onto your countertops,” the professor added.

‘Germs in the Sink’

If one washes a raw turkey, the CDC advises them to immediately and “thoroughly sanitize” the surrounding area and sink. However, the agency cited a study that found one in seven people who cleaned their sink after washing raw chicken still had “germs in the sink.”

People who come into contact with raw turkey can be exposed to salmonella and campylobacter bacteria, according to the CDC. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says that bacteria can grow rapidly between temperatures of 40 degrees F and 140 degrees F. The agency has long advised that a whole cooked turkey should reach around 165 degrees F via a meat thermometer in order to kill off harmful pathogens.

The CDC also advises that germs can survive in turkey stuffing that hasn’t yet reached 165 degrees F:

“If you cooked the stuffing in your turkey, wait 20 minutes after taking the bird out of the oven before removing the stuffing,” which “allows the stuffing to cook a little longer.”

Generally, one should take the turkey’s temperature in the thickest part of the breast or in the inner part of the thigh.

Where to Thaw?

Federal agencies also advise against thawing raw turkey on kitchen surfaces because of the risk of spreading salmonella or other bacteria, although the USDA says on its website that it is safe to thaw a turkey in a sink with consistently cold water or inside a microwave.

However, it says that the safest place to thaw a turkey is in the refrigerator.

A supermarket bin full of turkeys. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/TNS

If one needs to thaw a turkey quickly, the faster method “is to submerge the frozen bird in cold water,” reads an article on the Ohio State University’s website.

But, it advises, “You need to change the water every 30 minutes to be safe. While this method is faster, it still takes about 30 minutes per pound for complete thawing. Cook the turkey immediately after thawing.”

The CDC says that under this method, the turkey should be kept in its original wrapping.

A “not recommended” way to thaw a turkey includes placing the bird on the counter, “in the garage, or on the back porch.” It also advises against thawing a turkey in a brown paper grocery bag or plastic garbage bag, using a dishwasher to thaw a turkey, or any other method.

The USDA advises consumers to purchase their turkey a day or two before they plan on cooking it so as to allow it to thaw completely. A whole turkey weighing from 8 pounds to upwards of 24 pounds will take 2 hours and 45 minutes up to 5 hours to cook, according to the USDA. With stuffing inside, it can take even longer.

Frozen raw turkey should be stored in a freezer until it’s ready to thaw, while fresh raw turkey can be stored in a refrigerator for one or two days before cooking, the USDA says.