The dangerous mistakes many people make before cooking chicken

Chicken is one of the easiest, tastiest and most versatile meats to cook with - but it can also be dangerous.

Handling raw chicken requires a lot of caution because of the risk of bacteria such as E. coli, salmonella and campylobacter.

Even when storing chicken in the refrigerator, you need to be careful not to contaminate the food around it.

Paediatric nutritionist and child nutrition expert, Many Sacher has some words of warning regarding raw chicken.

Speaking to Mamma Mia, she gave some advice on how to properly handle the raw meat before cooking it.

For example, you should never store your chicken on the top shelf of the fridge.

"When unpacking groceries after a shopping trip, many of us tend to rush and put everything into the fridge where it will fit (fridge Tetris comes to mind!)," she explains.

"When it comes to high-risk foods like chicken however, it's best to store these on the bottom shelf to reduce cross-contamination from the juices dripping on to other foods.

"A simple strategy that goes a long way towards a healthier family (and a perfect reason to enlist the help of older children in a fridge re-organisation activity!)"

The expert also warns people that they should never wash chicken before cooking it.

"Tiny droplets of bacteria are easily spread around the kitchen and surrounding surfaces," she says.

"Instead, you can use a paper towel and pat the chicken dry. Or a safer alternative is to bypass the washing completely and start cooking immediately."