Food pathogens could be living in your kitchen towels.
When I was growing up my mom cleaned with bleach. Now, my entire family are bleachers. We all like to bleach, nothing says clean, like the smell of bleach. Maybe it saved our lives. It is a great way to keep your kitchen and your kitchen towels from poisoning you.
Food safety is a concern. It seems like food recalls are increasing. You might be careful with your food choices and food handling practices, but there are some places that deserve a second look, or more accurately a good bleaching.
There were a number of contributing factors.
- The number of people living in your house and using the kitchen.
- Using kitchen towels for multiple purposes, like drying your hands, cleaning dishes, wiping surfaces.
- If the towels were moist.
- Having meat products in the kitchen.
The risk of having Escherichia coli was higher on humid, wet towels than dry ones, with more people using the towels and with meat products. Escheria coli, a bacteria found in human feces, can be eliminated by washing hands with soap and water for a minimum of 15 seconds or as long as you can sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.
Your kitchen towels are not causing the problem.
Most pathogens are found in common places in your kitchen. Surfaces that are in contact with animal products like meat compartment drawers in your fridge, the buttons on your microwave, the handle of your fridge, counters, cutting boards, knives, the rubber lids on Tupperware containers. The most common places that are not disinfected with either a bleach and water solution, vinegar or hot, soapy water.
Kitchen towels used for multiple purposes are one of the carriers of pathogens, not the cause.
What pathogens?
Salmonella is the leading cause of food poisoning hospitalizations in the US. The most common sources in the food system are eggs and chicken. Eggs, with over 100,000 salmonella poisoning cases per year in the US.
70% of chicken and turkey are contaminated with Campolybacter, which is destroyed when cooking, but it is the preparing that is dangerous.
Other pathogens found in kitchens include mould, listeria, E. coli as the most common contributors.
How to avoid being poisoned.
There are a number of ways you can prevent getting food poisoning.
- Wash your hands. For at least 10-15 seconds with soap and hot water.
- If you keep meat products in your fridge put them in the bottom container so they don’t drip onto other food. Put them in at least two sealed plastic bags.
- Use only one cutting board and knife for meat products. Make sure the cutting board has no grooves, or knicks, in it that can harbour bacteria. Do not cut anything else on that cutting board. Wash it every time with hot, soapy water or with a bleach and water solution.
- Do not rinse meat or poultry as the water splashing onto surrounding surfaces can contaminate your kitchen.
- With a vinegar or a bleach solution clean all kitchen surfaces including fridge handles, microwave buttons, oven handles and dials, countertops, can-openers, spatulas.
- Cook all animal products until completely done. Eggs too. No soft-boiled eggs or runny yolks.
- Don’t cut through the dirt on fruits like melons. The dirt can harbour bacteria and cutting through the rind, without washing it, will transfer the bacteria into the fruit.
- Peel off the outer layers of cabbage or other vegetables to remove the surfaces that could be touched by other people with dirty hands.
- Don’t buy pre-cut fruits and vegetables or pre-packaged salads.
- Wash dish clothes and tea towels regularly.
What those kitchen towels are telling us.
The researchers who studied the kitchen towels say that their study highlights the importance of avoiding cross-contamination, washing hands effectively and cleaning all the surfaces in our kitchens. 1 tbsp bleach and 1 gallon or 3.5 litres of water will do the trick.
Change your mind, change your health,
Shayla
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