yes, rinse the things before you put them in.
I am being serious, i shall expalin.
I used to work for a white goods company, and i was trained only to fix "home laundry" the bloke i was "trainee to" fixed dishwashers too,he told me the following
tomato ketchup will stain the plastic in a dishwasher pink
mix cutlery up (so that two forks can not go on top of each other)
dish washers are NOT waste disposal units*
Thats all i know about dishwashers (and i dont have one)
* he said quite often the arms would get jammed, sometimes the pump, because of food left on plates, they (the plates) should be rinsed off to remove any left over / stuck on food FIRST because it is a washer not a disposal unit. he said so if any one asks why the arms get clogged , you can now tell them, any thing else book a call
as you said getting plugged with plastic and food if you rinsed the food off it will not happen