Spinach, tomatoes, peppers, peanut butter, pistachios, and now bagged lettuce.  The list of foods that have been contaminated just gets longer and longer. But the truth is, it’s not just food tainted in the fields or at processing plants that make us sick. Our own food handling and storage habits at home also contribute to the problem. One in four Americans comes down with some kind of illness linked to contaminated food each year. Here’s a food safety guide that covers all of the hot spots where contamination or food poisoning could occur in our own kitchens.

 

DISH TOWELS

The problem: You rinse your pieces of chicken and wipe your hands on the towel before continuing to cook. Salmonella alert!

FIX: During food prep with raw meat, use paper towels not cloth. Wash hands immediately with soap and water.

 

CUTTING BOARDS

The problem: It is used for everything from chopping scallions to slicing roast beef.

FIX: Always wash boards with hot soapy water and rinse, spray with a mixture of one teaspoon of bleach to 16 ounces of water. Then rinse again with hot water or toss it in the dishwasher. The easiest to clean boards are made of plastic or glass because they are nonporous and more resistant to germs. I like to designate boards for meat, poultry, vegetables/fruit, and breads. If you love wood, choose the dishwasher safe kind that has been treated with Microban. Whatever the material, throw them out when they are worn or have a lot of knife indentations as they can trap bacteria.

 

SINK

The problem: Think of all the things you rinse in your sink; shrimp, chicken, turkey they all leave behind bacteria, juices and blood.

FIX: Disinfect your sink with bleach and water immediately after you have worked with raw meats, eggs, or poultry.

SPONGE:

The problem: You use it to wipe up everything from crumbs to meat juices and then it goes back on the edge of the sink.

FIX: Clean your sponges by soaking in a bowl of water with one teaspoon of bleach or microwave it in a bowl of water for two to three minutes or run it in the dishwasher with dishes for a cycle.

 

KNIFE BLOCK

The problem: You use your knife to cut up chicken, then rinse it and return it wet to the knife block. It can grow bacteria in just 24 to 48 hours.

FIX: Scrub your knives with dishwashing liquid and hot water, wipe dry with a cloth before putting them into the block. Better yet store them in a drawer.

 

COUNTERTOPS

The problem: You make scrambled eggs and spill some on the counter, later you make a sandwich on the same spot.

FIX: Disinfect your countertops after any food prep to kill lingering bacteria. If you use a clean-up product it should say it kills 99.9 percent of germs and bacteria, remember to rinse after use.

 

LEFTOVERS

The problem: While you’re busy cleaning the kitchen, you let the leftovers sit out too long.

FIX: Stick them in the fridge right away. If they are still warm, leave the lid off to chill faster. Food that is between 40 and 140 degrees F allows bacteria to grow much faster; the goal is to get leftovers below 40 degrees as quickly as possible. When reheating stir and make sure they reach 165 degrees, the temperature that kills bacteria.

 

Always remember clean hands, cleaner food. Before any food prep, thoroughly wash your hands to reduce your odds of food poisoning. Wash extra well after touching any raw meat or veggies. How much washing is enough? A 20 second scrub using regular soap and hot water is sufficient

 

God’s Peace and Joy,

       Wendy Wagner R.N. BSN

       Parish Nurse

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