To Foil Food Poisoning, Keep Your Kitchen Squeaky Clean
Food poisoning from restaurants andpackaged produce gets plenty of badpress. But the bacteria and viruses thattrigger food poisoning also can thrivein your kitchen. The usual culpritsare hands, cutting boards, counters,and sponges.
It’s enough to make you sick—and,all too often, it does. Pregnant womenand people with stressed immunesystems face the highest risk.
To avoid food poisoning, followthese four tips:
- Wash your hands carefully withsoap and warm water before preparingfood and eating, and after touching acontaminant, such as raw meat, poultry,eggs, or fish. For a thorough wash,scrub your hands for 20 seconds. Rinseand dry with a paper towel, then usethe towel to turn off the faucet.
- Regularly wash counters andother surfaces, such as cutting boardsand refrigerator shelves. Use warm,soapy water. If a contaminant hastouched these surfaces, disinfectthem with a solution made from atablespoon of unscented bleach in agallon of water. Let the disinfectantstand for a few minutes beforerinsing with clear water. Air dry orpat dry with paper towels. It’s bestto use paper towels when cleaning,so you don’t spread germs around.
- Reserve one cutting boardfor fresh fruits and vegetables andanother for cutting meat, poultry,and fish. Pitch a cutting boardwhen it becomes worn or developshard-to-clean grooves.
- Turn on your microwave, not yourdishwasher, to disinfect sponges andscrubbers. A study recently publishedin the Journal of Environmental Healthconcluded that two minutes in amicrowave at full power was enoughto sterilize these items. But for safety’ssake, wet the sponge first.
fact
Bleach and ammonia are both goodcleaners. But don’t combine them. And,never spike other household cleaners witha little bleach to make a more powerfuldisinfectant. The resulting fumes canbe toxic and may lead to death.