Handling Raw Meat, Poultry and Eggs Safely

No, you should not wash raw chicken, or any other raw meat or poultry. Washing does not get rid of harmful bacteria, and it splashes them onto your hands, worktops and utensils, where they can spread to food that will be eaten without further cooking. Thorough cooking kills the bacteria that washing cannot reach¹. That single rule, and a food thermometer, cover most of what separates a safe kitchen from a risky one.

The numbers to hold on to are simple. Chicken, duck, pork, offal, and anything made from minced meat, including burgers and sausages, should be cooked through until the core reaches 75°C, with no pink meat left¹. Whole cuts of beef and lamb are the exception: a steak or a whole joint (not a rolled joint) can be served rare as long as the outside has been properly sealed by cooking¹. Fish is done at 63°C¹. Eggs belong in the fridge, and their best-before date is set no more than 28 days after they were laid².

This page sets out how to store, handle and cook each of these foods, why the rules differ between a steak and a burger, and what to do if someone in the household does fall ill.

Why washing raw chicken does more harm than good

The instinct is understandable: chicken looks slippery, and rinsing feels like cleaning. But the bacteria that matter, above all campylobacter, sit on the surface and inside the bird, and a tap does nothing to them except move them. NHS inform's guidance is unambiguous: "You should never wash raw meat or poultry before cooking as this can spread bacteria around your sink, work surfaces and utensils"¹. Cornwall Council's barbecue advice says the same: "never wash raw chicken or any other meat - you risk splashing germs onto your hands, utensils and worktops"⁴.

The reason cooking works where washing fails is temperature. As NHS inform puts it, "Washing doesn't get rid of harmful bacteria, but thoroughly cooking will kill any bacteria present"¹. Water from a tap cannot reach the temperatures needed, and the splashing it creates sends invisible droplets onto surfaces, tea towels and ready-to-eat food such as bread and salad, all of which will never be cooked again to destroy what has landed on them.

The same logic applies to the rest of the washing-up routine. Wash fruit and vegetables before eating them to remove surface dirt or bacteria, but do it in a bowl of fresh water, rubbing them rather than holding them under a running tap, to reduce splashing¹. Wash dishcloths and tea towels regularly, let them dry before use, and use the hot cycle of your washing machine, because dirty and damp cloths are a perfect place for bacteria to breed¹. After raw or thawing meat has touched anything, clean surfaces, utensils, plates and hands thoroughly to stop bacteria spreading around the kitchen⁵.

Campylobacter: the bug behind most UK food poisoning

Campylobacter is the most common cause of food poisoning in the UK⁶. Cornwall Council's infectious disease guidance calls it "the most common cause of acute diarrhoea in adults"³, and NHS Borders notes it is found in the gut of animals and birds, with poultry the commonest meat source⁸. Its main sources are undercooked chicken and other meats, handling pets, cross-contamination to other foods, raw milk and contaminated water³.

Two features of campylobacter shape how you should respond if someone falls ill. First, the symptoms, stomach cramps and severe diarrhoea but rarely vomiting, can begin 2 to 10 days after eating contaminated food, though usually within 2 to 5 days³. NHS Borders gives the usual window as 2 to 7 days⁸. That delay means the meal people blame is often not the one that made them ill, so do not rule out a food just because it was eaten recently. Second, because germs passed on by other people, pets or farm animals cause more than half of food poisoning cases, transferred via hands and surfaces⁸, hand washing matters as much as cooking does.

Salmonella follows a similar pattern. The most commonly reported foods causing salmonellosis are raw meat, undercooked poultry, eggs and unpasteurised milk⁹. Both bacteria are killed by the same measures: thorough cooking, clean hands, and keeping raw and ready-to-eat food apart. More detail on the bugs themselves is on Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria and Other Causes of Illness.

Chicken, duck, pork and offal: 75°C, all the way through

Poultry, pork and offal share one rule: cook them through until the core temperature reaches 75°C, and never eat them pink or rare¹. This is not a matter of preference. Bacteria on these meats are not confined to the surface, so searing the outside is not enough, and a food thermometer is the reliable way to check. If you do not have one, the practical checks are that the meat is steaming hot throughout, there is no pink meat visible when you cut into the thickest part, and the juices run clear¹⁰.

The 75°C figure also covers a less obvious risk in pork. Food Standards Scotland advises that whole cuts of pork, pork products and offal should be thoroughly cooked until the thickest part of the meat reaches at least 75°C with a food thermometer, because of the risk of hepatitis E¹². So the same number that protects you from campylobacter and salmonella in chicken protects you from a virus in pork.

Barbecues are where this most often goes wrong, because char and heat are not the same thing. Never cook food over flames: the outside will burn while the inside stays raw and unsafe to eat¹. Cook over the embers instead, and move meat around so it heats evenly. Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold until you are ready to eat them¹³, and check every piece before serving: steaming hot throughout, no pink in the thickest part, clear juices¹⁰.

Beef and lamb: when rare is safe

A steak is different from a chicken breast because of where the bacteria live. On a whole cut of beef or lamb, harmful bacteria are on the outside surface, so searing that surface cooks them off even while the middle stays pink. NHS inform's rule is: "Beef and lamb steaks and whole joints (not rolled joints) can be served rare as long as the outside has been properly cooked (sealed)"¹.

The exception is in the brackets. A rolled joint has had the outer surface folded inside, where the heat of a pan or oven cannot reliably reach it, so it must be treated like minced meat and cooked through. The same applies to any meat that has been pierced, skewered or tenderised in a way that could push surface bacteria into the middle. When reheating any cooked food, make sure it is steaming hot and heated all the way through¹.

Burgers and sausages: minced meat must be cooked through

Mincing takes the bacteria from the surface of the meat and spreads them throughout, so a burger's pink middle is not a sealed middle. NHS inform is direct: "Always cook burgers and sausages made from these meats all the way through. This will kill harmful bacteria, including E. coli O157"¹. E. coli O157 matters because it is one of the causes of serious illness from undercooked minced beef, and a small number of bacteria is enough to cause infection.

The practical standard is the same as for chicken: if possible, use a thermometer to ensure the internal temperature reaches 75°C, and make sure there is no pink meat¹. At a barbecue, the Wales Ambulance Service's advice is that meat "must be cooked until it's piping hot all the way through, none of the meat is pink and the juices run clear"¹¹, and South East Coast Ambulance's summer advice says the same¹³. Pre-cooking chicken in the oven and finishing it on the barbecue is a common way to combine flavour with safety, provided the final checks are still made.

Fish and shellfish: 63°C and the signs of done

Fish is cooked when it reaches 63°C, measured with a food thermometer¹. If you do not have a thermometer, the signs are reliable: fish flesh turns opaque, losing its transparency, and flakes easily with a fork; prawns turn from blue-grey to pink; scallops, crab and lobster flesh becomes firm and opaque; and the shells of clams, mussels, whelks and oysters open during cooking¹.

Shellfish have one further rule that decides whether they should be cooked at all. Raw shellfish should always be cooked alive, and you should never cook any shellfish if the shell does not close when handled before cooking: a shell that will not close means the animal is already dead¹. After cooking, never eat any shellfish whose shell remains closed¹. A closed shell after cooking means the animal was dead before it went in the pan, and dead shellfish spoil in a way heat cannot make safe.

Two cautions sit alongside this. If you choose to eat raw fish, make sure it has been frozen first, as the cold temperature will kill any parasites present¹. And cold-smoked or cured fish, such as that added to cooked pasta or scrambled eggs, should be cooked first, because warming it through while preparing the meal will not heat it to a high enough temperature to kill listeria¹⁵. Because the risk of serious illness from listeriosis increases with age, older adults should eat such products by their use-by dates, keep them refrigerated below 5°C, and consider safer alternatives¹⁵.

Storing raw meat and eggs: where each belongs

Raw meat goes at the bottom of the fridge, in a sealed container, below everything else, so that nothing can drip onto ready-to-eat food³. Prepare and store raw meat and ready-to-eat food separately, and use separate shopping bags for the two on the way home¹. Defrost meat and fish thoroughly before cooking, because partially defrosted food may not cook evenly and harmful bacteria may survive¹. Once raw meat, fish or poultry has been defrosted, it cannot be frozen again¹; more detail is on Can You Refreeze Defrosted Meat.

Eggs are best stored in the fridge, where they are kept at a constant temperature¹, and Cornwall Council's advice is simply to always store eggs in the refrigerator³. Their best-before date is set at no more than 28 days after they are laid². A best-before date is about quality: after it, the egg will still be safe to eat but its flavour, colour or texture might not be as good². However, after this date the quality declines, and if any salmonella bacteria are present they could multiply to high levels and could make you ill². Never eat any food past its use-by date, which is a safety deadline rather than a quality one¹⁶.

Freezing and keeping eggs

Eggs can be frozen, but not in their shells. You can freeze boiled eggs, and raw eggs that have been removed from their shells¹. To freeze whole eggs, beat them until blended and pour them into freezer containers that can be sealed tightly¹⁶. Frozen egg, like defrosted meat, should be used in fully cooked dishes rather than anything lightly cooked.

Freezers themselves hold safety in a power cut. Food in your freezer should stay frozen for up to 48 hours in a full freezer, or 24 hours if it is half full, as long as the door stays closed¹⁷. Chilled food is more vulnerable: if the fridge temperature has reached 8°C or above, foods needing refrigeration should be discarded after 4 hours unless power is restored within that time¹⁷. The two sources in the pack give slightly different figures for how long food keeps in the fridge during a cut, 4 to 6 hours if you avoid opening the door, so treat that as an outside limit and rely on the 8°C and 4-hour rule for deciding what to throw away¹⁷. Fridge and freezer thermometers are covered on Fridge and Freezer Temperatures and Thermometers.

Keeping raw and ready-to-eat food apart

Cross-contamination is how bacteria travel from raw food to food that will be eaten without cooking, and every measure in this section exists to break that path. NHS inform's list of what to do covers storage, preparation and shopping¹:

• Keep raw meat and unwashed vegetables separate from ready-to-eat foods during storage and preparation¹
• Use different chopping boards, plates and utensils for raw and cooked food, or wash them thoroughly between uses¹
• Wash hands, worktops and utensils thoroughly after touching raw meat, poultry, fish and eggs¹
• Keep raw meat in a sealed container at the bottom of the fridge¹
• Never wash raw meat¹
• Use separate shopping bags for raw and ready-to-eat foods¹

Wash your hands before you prepare, cook or eat food; after handling raw food such as raw meat, uncooked eggs and unwashed fruit and vegetables; and after touching the bin, going to the toilet, blowing your nose or touching your pets¹. Northumberland Council's guidance adds the same rule in its own words: wash hands well before handling food and always after handling raw meat, going to the toilet, blowing your nose or handling animals including pets¹⁸. During a 2023 rise in salmonella cases linked to poultry products imported from Poland, Food Standards Scotland repeated the core advice: never wash raw poultry products, and clean all surfaces and utensils with hot, soapy water after contact with raw poultry⁹.

Pets are part of this picture, not a separate one. Handling pets is a main source of campylobacter³, and germs passed on by other people, pets or farm animals cause more than half of food poisoning cases⁸. Raw pet food deserves the same treatment as raw meat for humans: in 2020, Benyfit Natural recalled several types of frozen raw dog food containing beef because the products might contain salmonella, and the advice issued with that recall was to wash hands thoroughly after handling raw pet food, bowls, utensils or after contact with the faeces of animals¹⁹. Food is recalled for contamination with pathogens like listeria or salmonella, or because of manufacturing faults such as plastic or metal being found in the product²⁰, so it is worth checking recall notices if you feed raw pet food.

Food poisoning: symptoms, timing and when to get help

Food poisoning is an illness caused by eating contaminated food⁶. Symptoms usually begin within 1 to 2 days of eating contaminated food, but they can also start a few hours later or several weeks later⁶. The symptoms include nausea, diarrhoea which may contain blood or mucus, lack of energy and weakness, loss of appetite, a fever of 38C or above, aching muscles and chills⁶. Shropshire Council's summary of the most common ones is diarrhoea, sickness, stomach pains and sometimes high temperature or fever⁷, and Cornwall Council adds stomach cramps, vomiting, fever, nausea, headache and dizziness³. Symptoms may last for only a day or continue for one or two weeks⁷.

Most cases pass with rest and fluids, but some need medical attention. NHS inform says to seek help if there are symptoms of severe dehydration, if the person is vomiting constantly and unable to keep down fluids, if there is bloody diarrhoea, if diarrhoea lasts more than 7 days or vomiting more than 2 days, if the person has returned from a part of the world with poor sanitation in the past few weeks, or if they have kidney disease, inflammatory bowel disease or a weak immune system and develop diarrhoea and vomiting⁶. Full detail is on Food Poisoning: Symptoms, Who Is at Risk and When to Get Help.

If you think you have food poisoning, visit your doctor as soon as possible; they might ask you to submit a sample for examination, or you can request to submit one¹⁸. Where a bacteria or parasite is responsible, food poisoning is normally diagnosed once a patient has provided a faecal sample to their doctor or at a hospital, which is then tested at a laboratory⁷. Reporting the illness helps environmental health teams trace outbreaks; see Reporting Food Poisoning or a Food Problem to Your Council.

Eggs, vulnerable groups and a note on imported eggs

Thoroughly cooked eggs, handled hygienically, should not present a food safety risk²¹. The caution applies to raw or lightly cooked eggs, such as in homemade mayonnaise or soft mousse, and it is strongest for vulnerable groups. Infants, young children, pregnant people and older adults should only eat raw or lightly cooked eggs if they are produced in the UK and are part of a recognised assurance scheme²¹. Cornwall Council's advice is to exercise caution with food containing raw egg, particularly for vulnerable groups or those who are immunocompromised³.

Imported eggs have been the subject of specific warnings. In 2026, Food Standards Scotland and the Food Standards Agency warned consumers and businesses not to eat or sell certain eggs imported from Ukraine, with the notice covering all best-before dates²¹. The lesson for an ordinary household is to check where eggs come from and to watch for food alerts, which are published when a product is withdrawn or recalled²⁰. How long stored food keeps in general is covered on Shelf Life, Use By and Best Before Dates Explained.