One in two Londoners admit they have washed raw chicken in recent months, a survey has found.
The findings come as health experts warn the practice could cause food poisoning by spreading bacteria onto work surfaces, clothes and hands through splashing water.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is campaigning this week to raise awareness of the risks associated with the practice, which spreads campylobacter bacteria.
Around 280,000 people each year are affected by campylobacter food poisoning, with four fifths of those cases caused by contaminated chicken, according to the FSA.
The bacteria can cause vomiting, fever, abdominal pain and severe diarrhoea.
Bob Martin, a food safety expert at the FSA, said: "A lot of people wash chicken because their parents did, when it has no real benefits and can in fact pose a substantial health hazard by spreading campylobacter, which is a bacterium that can cause a severe form of food poisoning.
"It’s this risky behaviour in particular that we want to tackle during Food Safety Week.”
The proportion of people who admitted washing raw chicken before eating it is 51 per cent in London - compared to around 40 per cent nationally.
The FSA is now urging Londoners to make sure raw chicken is covered, stored at the bottom of the fridge to avoid juices dripping onto other food.
