STEPHEN LEWIS seeks some food safety tips for healthy summer eating.

DON'T wash your chicken under the kitchen tap before cooking it: you could be at risk of food poisoning by spreading germs around.

That's the message from the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) for Food Safety Week, which began on Monday.

Eight out of ten people in the Yorkshire and Humber region who cook meat and poultry do wash the meat under the kitchen tap before cooking as part of their kitchen regime.

It seems the obvious and natural thing to do. But food safety scientists say the bacteria that cause food poisoning are killed by thorough cooking, so it is unnecessary to rinse the bird beforehand. All you will do by washing the bird first is risk splashing invisible bacteria on to nearby taps, kitchen surfaces and foods - from where they could spread to already cooked foods.

"Often we think we're doing the right thing by wiping or rinsing away germs, but more often than not, this isn't doing the job, and we could be unwittingly putting ourselves at risk of food poisoning," says Martin Paterson, deputy director general of the FDF.

It is the same when it comes to wiping down work surfaces. Two per cent of those who use a sponge or dishcloth to keep their kitchen surfaces clean admit to only rinsing the cloth or sponge between wipes.

However, this doesn't kill bacteria and could in fact spread the invisible germs around kitchen surfaces.

Other cleaning methods reported were putting cloths in the washing machine (29 per cent) and washing them in hot soapy water (26 per cent) - even though the most effective way is to disinfect, boil or bleach them.

The focus for Food Safety Week this year is Avoid Spreading Germs, and the good news from a new survey conducted by the FDF is that in some areas, the message is getting through.

86 PER CENT of those surveyed in Yorkshire and Humberside said they would always wash their hands after touching raw meats and before handling salads and ready-to-eat foods. This is up from 82 per cent in 2002

MORE than half (52 per cent) know that it is important to store raw meat on the bottom shelf of the fridge to avoid the juices dripping on to other foods

MORE than half (59 per cent) always use separate chopping boards and knives for cutting raw meats and ready-to-eat vegetables. A further 14 per cent say they wash the utensils/board in between.

There are still causes for concern, though.

One in ten of those surveyed said they never used separate chopping boards and knives when preparing raw meat and ready-to-eat foods such as salads, meaning there could be a real risk of cross infection.

Four per cent only wipe chopping boards or knives, which doesn't fully remove any bacteria present; 11 per cent said they placed raw meat wherever it would fit in the fridge, and, more worryingly, a further ten per cent said they would place it on the top shelf, where juices could drip on to other foods contaminating them.

"Spreading germs when preparing food is easily done, but also easily prevented," says Mr Paterson. "Our survey shows that some messages are hitting home, but there is still much to be done."

Updated: 09:15 Thursday, June 17, 2004