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Keeping Germs Out of the Kitchen • Germs hide out, waiting patiently for people to get careless about time, temperature and cleanliness. Given enough time in the danger zone (40 degrees F to 140 degrees F) and sufficient food, they grow to enormous numbers, making many who ingest them sick.
Keeping Germs Out of the Kitchen • The most common way bacteria get into food is through cross contamination: the bacteria on raw agricultural products are somehow transferred to cooked or ready-to-eat foods. "Somehow" generally means through human error.
Keeping Germs Out of the Kitchen • To keep that from happening, it helps to know where bacteria hide in the kitchen. Here are a few likely hiding places to look at:
Sponge • These are great places for bacteria to grow. People usually think that as the sponge dries there is no longer any danger from bacteria. One food company lost more than $10 million in a product recall because of a dirty sponge someone used to sanitize a food contact surface. For commercial establishments, the FDA food code specifies that sponges not be used at all, due to the contamination risk.
Dish Towels • If used to dry dishes and utensils, the towel has the potential for introducing contamination. For that reason, the FDA food code specifies that dishes and utensils should be air dried after washing.
Paper Towels • If paper towels are used as wiping cloths, they should be used once and then thrown away. To wipe up a spill on one surface and then wipe down another with the same paper towel is to give bacteria a free ride in the kitchen, a ride that could end up in your food.
Sinks • A sink used for multiple purposes --vegetable prep, thawing chickens, and washing utensils--needs to be sanitized between uses or else the bacteria will flourish and travel around the kitchen.
Aprons • People tend to think their apron is clean, even though they often wipe their hands on it in lieu of washing and drying them at the hand washing sink. The apron is intended to place a barrier between your street clothes and a counter or cutting board or other surface you might lean against in the course of food preparation. Secondarily it protects your clothes from stains. It is not an alternative to washing your hands.
Cutting Boards • Cutting boards are notorious for cross contamination. The older they get, the more cracks and crevices they provide in which bacteria can hide. In addition, they might not be sanitized between uses. The board used one minute to cut up a raw chicken (possibly loaded with salmonella) may be used the next minute to dice raw vegetables for a salad.
Wooden Utensils • The maple ladles, spoons, and stirrers that some chefs favor because the heat doesn't travel up the handles, and wooden utensils like salad bowls, deteriorate in time, developing cracks and cuts that bacteria can hide in.
Countertops • Time and again countertops have been demonstrated to be highly contaminated. Laboratory tests have determined that the number of bacteria lurking there are often extremely high. If countertops are used as food contact surfaces--for the preparation of sandwiches, for example--they can cause considerable cross contamination. They need to be wiped down regularly with clean cloths soaked in sanitizing solution and perhaps covered with clean table covers or place mats.
Hands • To this long list of bacterial hiding places one can add the worst of them all--hands. Hands must be constantly washed when switching from one activity to another.
Serving Serving tips • Do not use the same platters and utensils before and after cooking. Use a clean serving plate for grilled foods too, not the one that held the raw meat, poultry or fish.
Serving • Never leave perishable food out of the refrigerator more than 2 hours. This includes preparation and serving time.
Serving • When temperatures reach 90 F or warmer, leave cooked food out for no longer than one hour before reheating, refrigerating or freezing.
Leftovers Leftovers tips • Use small containers for quick cooling. • To reheat, bring sauces, soups and gravy to a boil. Heat other leftovers thoroughly to 165 F. • Do not mix leftovers with fresh food portions. If in doubt...throw it out!
Leftovers • Avoid tasting old leftovers to determine safety. • Discard outdated, unsafe or possible unsafe leftovers in a garbage disposal or in tightly wrapped packages that cannot be consumed by people or animals.
Preparation • WASH HANDS with warm soapy water thoroughly before handling foods as well as after handling pets; After handling raw meats, poultry and fish; After changing diapers; After wiping noses; After handling garbage and doing other related tasks. • Teach children to wash their hands before handling food.
Preparation • Always wash kitchen countertops, utensils, dishes and cutting boards thoroughly with soap and hot water after contact with raw meat, poultry, fish and other raw foods. • Use of separate cutting boards for raw and cooked food is wise. Different colors can help keep them separate.
Preparation • Use acrylic cutting boards, rather than wooden ones where bacteria can hide in grooves and cracks. • Thaw foods in the refrigerator, rather than on the counter top; Or thaw in microwave followed by immediate cooking. • Marinate foods in the refrigerator. Do not reuse marinade.
Can Your Kitchen Pass the Test? • Are your cupboards clean... • Are kitchen cloths clean? • Do you wipe out the inside of the dishwasher and sanitize periodically? • Is your refrigerator clean?
Can Your Kitchen Pass the Test? • Is your stove clean? • Is you floor clean? • Do you clean the crumb tray of the unplugged toaster periodically? • Are counter tops clean? Are corners and edges clean (a clean tooth brush works well)
Hand Washing • After you go to the bathroom. If you touch a cut or sore. And always before you touch food. Also, wash your hands after you touch raw meat, poultry or fish. They may carry harmful germs too. • Wash your hands with soap and warm water for 20 seconds. The suds scrub dirt and germs away.
Hand Washing • Don't leave anything out. Wash your hands front and back and between the fingers. Soap up your wrists too. And don't forget your fingernails. A good nail brush does the best job there. • Rinse well in warm water. Those pesky germs will go down the drain!
Steps to Proper Hand Washing Wet hands thoroughlywith warm water. Apply soap generously. Scrub under nails with a clean nail brush. Rub hands and wrists vigorously for at least 15 seconds. Rinse hands thoroughly with warm water. Dry hands using blow dryer or single-use towel.
How Can I Handle Food Safely? • The most important tool you have to prevent food borne illness is good personal hygiene. Personal hygiene is the way a person maintains their health, appearance and cleanliness. Not only can you become the victim of illness, but you can also be the carrier! A cough or sneeze can transmit thousands of microorganisms that may cause disease.
