It's a question that comes up every Thanksgiving: Should you wash the turkey?

The simple answer is no.

What they're saying:

The United States Department of Agriculture advises not to wash your turkey, because doing so can spread bacteria through splashing juices, contaminating kitchen surfaces and other foods. Instead, they stress that it’s important to wash your hands before and after handling the turkey and its packaging to prevent illness.

Go ahead and rinse your cranberries, potatoes and green beans. But food experts say don’t — repeat don’t — wash the turkey before popping it in the oven on Thanksgiving Day.

They say that could spread the germs lurking on your turkey in the kitchen sink or nearby food. But it’s been a challenge trying to convince cooks to stop rinsing off raw pou

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