Sprouting germs in the kitchen

Luise Heine has been an editor at since 2012. The qualified biologist studied in Regensburg and Brisbane (Australia) and gained experience as a journalist in television, in the Ratgeber-Verlag and in a print magazine. In addition to her work at , she also writes for children, for example for the Stuttgarter Kinderzeitung, and has her own breakfast blog, “Kuchen zum Frühstück”.

More posts by Luise Heine All content is checked by medical journalists.

MunichSuddenly diarrhea or vomiting - Salmonella and Co. quickly cause severe discomfort. Around nine percent of those affected get food poisoning in their own kitchen. The reason: incorrect handling of the food. In particular, researchers have one kitchen utensil in their sights as a possible source of infection: the kitchen towel.

Unclean work in the kitchen? Many would disagree with the fact that they do not take sufficient care of hygiene. Kansas State University food experts Jeannie Sneed and Randall Phebus and their team came up with an attempt to better understand how germ contamination occurs in kitchens.

Cutting fruit salad for science

To do this, they had 123 test subjects cook in an experimental kitchen, on the one hand a dish with minced meat or poultry, and on the other hand a fruit salad. The researchers had previously provided the raw meat with a lactic acid bacterium. This is harmless, but served as an indicator that helped to understand where and how pollution had taken place during cooking. Before they started, the subjects were briefed again on food safety.

Lively distribution of the germs

It turned out, however, that the teachings had little effect: in around 90 percent of the cases, the prepared fruit salad had traces of lactic acid bacteria. In addition, the test cooks had spread the potentially dangerous germs all over the kitchen, on the sink, refrigerator, oven and rubbish bin.

Most of the bacteria, however, were found on kitchen towels and dishcloths. "The observations showed that the test subjects were constantly handling the kitchen textiles, even when they were not using them to dry off," says food specialist Sneed. The video recordings proved that some of the cooks touched the towels before washing their hands. Even those who then washed their hands would pick up the germs when they were dried off.

Good basis for growth

Careless handling of kitchen textiles can be a problem. Other researchers have shown that salmonella, for example, can also multiply on it overnight. The scientist Jeannie Sneed therefore advises putting wiping cloths and kitchen towels in the laundry immediately after preparing the meal, or avoiding paper towels.

More mobility for germs

During their investigations, the scientists noticed something else: the natural use of mobile devices such as smartphones in the kitchen. Not a problem in itself - wouldn't the same devices be taken to much "quieter" places. There, in turn, it can come into contact with unpleasant companions such as noroviruses or E. coli bacteria - nobody wants to drag these into their kitchen. "If you still want to use your cell phone in the kitchen, you should consider it as a possible transmission source," says Sneed. Regularly wiping the surfaces of tablets and cell phones with disinfectant could reduce the risk.

Five hygiene tips for the kitchen

Nobody is perfect, this also applies to maintaining kitchen hygiene. Nevertheless, the food safety professionals still have a few tips ready on how to significantly reduce the risk of salmonella and co .:

1. Wash your hands properly

"As soon as you come into the kitchen to cook, you should wash your hands thoroughly first," advises Jeannie Sneed. A rule of thumb was that proper cleaning should take at least 20 seconds. The use of soap is compulsory. Hand washing should also be repeated regularly while preparing food, especially when handling raw food.

2.Wash kitchen towels

Kitchen towels and rags should be changed daily. This is especially true if they were in use when raw meat was being processed. For intermediate steps, it is otherwise advisable to use kitchen paper, which can be disposed of immediately after use (and dirt).

3. Steer clear of kitchen sponges

Even if they're terribly practical, experts don't believe in kitchen sponges. The conditions for germs are too good. Phebus knows, however, that in practice many do not want to leave the kitchen helpers. Then, the expert advises, these should at least be disinfected regularly. For example, the sponge can be washed in the dishwasher (and then dried well) or heated slightly damp in the microwave for 30 seconds.

4. Use a cooking thermometer

Most pathogens in food automatically die when exposed to heat for long enough. That means, for example, heating minced meat to at least 70 degrees and chicken to at least 73 degrees - including inside. To be really sure that this is the case, a thermometer helps to determine the temperature in the core of the meat products as well.

5. Distribution of tasks for kitchen tools

Food germs usually spread through contact where normally they shouldn't. For example, because the peppers that should go raw in the salad were cut on the same board as the turkey breast strips provided. There should be separate boards and knives for both of them - it is helpful here if the different colors of the utensils make it impossible to confuse them. “For example, I use several kitchen towels,” explains the researcher. One is only for the hands, one for the dishes.

Source: Sneed J. et al. Consumer Food Handling Practices Lead to Cross-contamination; Food Protection Trends, Vol 35, No. 1, pp. 36-48

Tags:  fitness tcm pregnancy birth