To ask if you clean your meat?

[Cleopatois]

I use lemon and water or white vinegar and water to clean all my meat.

A colleague said she didn't just through it from pack to pan :O

Her reasoning was 'its free range so that means it clean'.

Another colleague said it is a culture thing. What do you do?

The rest of the world? How on earth have you got that data? Have you asked every single person?

Show us some stats for the rest of the world then, episode? Anything from, say, the WHO would do.

The plural of anecdote is anecdotes. Not data.

You did accuse me of excusing her comments which was not at all true, I was actually saying that I think her and my DH were off the same background as her beliefs are similar

MamaPain I'll trawl. Maybe so. Let's regroup. We might not agree but let's see

The 'ick' 'madness' and 'yuck' amongst others comments were directed to the meat washers.

What sort of research to get stats from do you think happens on things that the mainstream thinks is wrong?

Just don't eat meat. No risk of contamination and jippy guts. Simples!

The plural of anecdote is anecdotes. Not data

Very true. But there not being stats to back it up doesn't mean that it doesn't happen, just that there are no stats to prove it.

Episode, I'm beeyootifully calm, but thanks for bothering about me.

Yep, as far as evidence is concerned, your family and mine are both anecdotal. What counts as data? Stuff like NHS stats showing that food poisoning is a serious health issue, lab tests on the impact of washing / vinegar rinsing on bacteria and other lab work on washing meat. That's your actual evidence, as opposed to 'my family have always washed/not washed meat and been fine'.

Me personally? I feel that washing meat is disgusting based on the fact that it increases the risk (NB: not guarantees!) the risk of food poisoning, and has absolutely no beneficial points as far as health is concerned.

Where are you getting your 'most of the world' from, btw?

Do you think generations of people, across numerous countries/communities of people/descendants from those countries would do it and keep on doing it if it were making them and their families ill?

no not you Caitlin.

fishand - sorry where did I say data?

My only point is that most of the world, loads of the world or a bloody fifth of the world, do it. They are not dying because of it.

If the only reason you shouldn't is because of water splashing, then its not a big thing. It really is not that hard to do it without splashing water and cleaning afterwards. Maybe this is down to taught experience too?

Did everybody decide to ignore the post from the abattoir worker?

Lol what do you want us meat washers to do, agree that the western way of doing things is so advanced and we should stop washing meat 'because its going to kill us' right now?

I understand your points of view but I have my own experiences and because of those I will stick with my methods.

You see it as common sense and I see what most of you are saying as dramatic, arrogant, ignorant and a few other things but they will cause offence so I won't say them.

Luckily I don't take offence too easily and so I am eye rolling and laughing at the over reactions and the 'you are so thick because what you do is pointless and our ways are obviously more intelligent' undertones.

My pleasure limited, I'm a meat washer bread pudding connoisseur so rarely forget anything related.

I'm not defending the OP, more just pointing out that she may have been misunderstood and because she wasn't very nice while defending something it doesn't mean that practice is unpleasant, just her. Not all meat washers are mental bitches, just we have ingrained behaviours, telling me not to wash my meat is like telling me to stop wiping my bum. I could be presented with a dossier as to the health benefits but I'll never stop wiping!

I know unwashed meat won't make me ill, I eat out and at friends so am not that fussy, it's just my ritual when cooking meat. Washing a piece of chicken in a sink is no less contaminating to the kitchen than chopping up a whole chicken. I've had lots of practice because of a mixed marriage but I think lots of you could do with a bit of tolerance.

My mum makes an awesome bread pudding. I love it and have done since as long as I can remember.

My kitchen has 4 cats in it who have no concept of any part of it being off limits so I doubt if the splatter from washing meat would make my kitchen any more unhygienic than it already is.

I also completely fail to see how washing meat will make it cleaner or safer to eat.

I am utterly puzzled why anyone who is a meat eater is squeamish about the blood that comes from meat or needs to wash the blood off.

Nothing cooked by me in my kitchen has ever given anyone an upset stomach.

I like this 'me and the rest of the world' do it and we are all alive, so no need for science to tell us anything line. It's such advanced thinking really, avoiding any thought about the people who did whatever is being discussed and died or were very ill. In population terms I guess that's just natural selection at work, but avoiding food poisoning is generally a better idea than surviving it.

Plus how can anyone opine on the habits of the 'majority' rest of the world without any knowledge - are there reliable worldwide surveys on meat washing?

I really couldn't care less whether other people chose to rinse their meat with water before they cook, I've a fairly robust constitution and can probably cope with occasional dodgy hygiene. I do object to being told my practices are disgusting, when they are in fact evidence based and safe.

Most seasoning was introduced to cover up for the taste of meat going off. Before refrigeration eating off meat was probably pretty common (and yes people got ill and sometimes died as a result).

Episode, no ones trying to stop you doing it. I'll happily and contentedly stick to my ignorance based on scientific evidence, and honestly I'm not too fussed what you do - unless you ask me round to your house, when I'll likely decline as there is an increased risk of me getting food poisoning round yours. (NB again: not a guarantee. But food poisoning is relatively common, and not very pleasant, so I'd like to keep the risk as low as poss, ta.)

Honestly? The evidence shows there's no benefit and a potentially increased risk. If you can show me evidence to the contrary, brilliant, you may change both my mind and my practices. If not, then I'm cool with my 'ignorance' based on some work on what is and is not effective against bacteria.

I'm still curious about what you've got against scientists, by the way.

• no one's, obv.

I find terms like 'disgusting' about other people's food practices completely unnecessary.

I am in a mixed culture marriage- half of us don't wash the meat, half of us do (they don't wash under a tap, but in bowls, exactly the same as marinade so I don't see the potential for cross-contamination worse than the bowl the chicken was defrosting in).

Just as well all of us are tolerant and usually chuckle about our different practices, even finding them strange. But never 'disgusting'.

I am utterly puzzled why anyone who is a meat eater is squeamish about the blood that comes from meat or needs to wash the blood off.

Agree

You're right, tallest, disgusting was a but OTT from me (though I do find the idea of meat-washing very unpleasant, but I'll happily own it as my own issue).

Jassy..... Can you point me to a study which shows the illness and deaths caused by meat washing?

Scientists...... Important in context!

The blood of an animal is not allowed in Islam and Judaism first of all.

Secondly I see your question similarly to asking if you are happy to eat mud because potatoes grow from the ground

Meat is meat. Meat is not blood.

Are meat splashes from washing more deadly than general uncooked meat contamination then? like the chopping board, the knife etc.

I expect the answer to that is, no, because they get washed up properly...as does the sink/bowl that is used to wash meat.

Gov issued guidelines are generally dumbed down to the lowest denominator, the ones regarding uncooked meat also include avoiding cross contamination [different chopping boards for differen foods etc] in food prep. As long as good hygeine is practised, most people will be fine.

Whilewesleep

wet myself at Only in a beaker.

Caitlin/Foxes, not eating blood isn't always about being squeamish, there are other reasons.

This may be of interest to you.

Episode sorry but eating meat and being squeamish about the blood that comes from is completely illogical.