Safeguarding the Kitchen

AUBURN, Feb. 5, 2004 --- When it comes to food safety, consumers are apt to worry about everything but the kitchen sink --- ironic, considering that this is where many of the worst foodborne pathogens are found.

Of the 76 million cases of foodborne illness traced to the home annually, many quite literally emanate from the kitchen sink.

“So, why is it that the news reporting seems fixated on the comparatively fewer outbreaks of illness associated with restaurants and food processing while ignoring the biggest culprit of all --- our own kitchens?” asked Dr. Jean Weese, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System food scientist and Auburn University associate professor of nutrition and food science.

Never mind the rhetorical question: She already knows. The reason, she said, is because safeguarding the kitchen against pathogens isn’t that compelling --- not as compelling, at least, as a massive outbreak of illness associated with a restaurant or food processor that leaves hundreds violently ill in its wake.

Even so, Weese said, this shouldn’t detract from the importance of safeguarding the kitchen, especially the sink, against foodborne illness. But homeowners beware: Safeguarding involves more than just applying elbow grease. Granted, it’s not rocket science. But doing it the right way involves overcoming many of the misconceptions associated with kitchen hygiene.

One reason, for example, that so many problems originate in the kitchen isn’t because it wasn’t cleaned frequently enough but because it wasn’t cleaned the right way.

Case in point: those sponges and dish rags used to clean countertops and tables that were previously employed on dirty dishes and flatware. In effect, all you’re doing is ensuring that germs from the sink are spread form one end of the kitchen to the other. Even worse, many sponges and rags are left in the sink or other moist places, providing ideal conditions for bacteria to multiply.

“You’ve essentially made a Petri dish for bacteria to grow,” Weese said. “So, with the bacterial count doubling every 20 minutes, you’re talking about a buildup of literally millions of bacteria in only an hour’s time.”

This can be prevented merely by ensuring that sponges and dish rags are dried out thoroughly before reuse.

“We generally tell people to use a dish rag instead of a sponge because it doesn’t harbor as many bacteria,” she said. “Also, with a rag, you can hang it on the faucet to drip dry. Granted, it’s a little yucky, but this is an efficient way to dry it, and drying has been shown to kill about 90 percent of the bacteria.”

As an added precaution, Weese recommends zapping sponges and dish rags in the microwave for no than a minute before reuse, though she offers one word of caution.

“Contrary to popular belief, items in the microwave heat from the outside first rather than vice versa,” she said. “So with thick sponges, you may run the risk that the interior may still harbor bacteria after it’s taken out of the microwave.

“Also, many older microwaves are plagued with cold spots, meaning some parts of the cooking chamber aren’t heated to the same uniform temperature during operation. So, again, there may be no guarantee that sponges are going to be completely free of bacteria.”

As a final safeguard, Weese recommends using a cleaning solution of two teaspoons of bleach to a quart of water. She also advises using a mist sprayer to lightly apply the solution to the sink and the surrounding countertops without wiping it away. That allows time for the solution to make contact with the bacteria.

“That’s one of the best things you can do,” she said. “Yes, your kitchen will smell like bleach all of time, but that’s good because it’s a reminder that you’ve creating a clean cooking and eating environment.”

One major bone of contention in recent years has been whether plastic cutting boards are safer than their wooden counterparts. The short answer is no. In fact, research has shown that bacteria are more likely to spread from the knife grooves in plastic surfaces than from those in wooden cutting boards.

“No matter how much you wash, the bacteria survive in these plastic grooves and can be spread to other parts of the kitchen during food preparation,” Weese said.

She recommends spraying these surfaces with bleach solution, allowing enough time for it to seep into these crevices to kill the bacteria.

[Source: Dr. Jean Weese, Alabama Cooperative Extension System Food Scientist and Auburn University Associate Professor of Nutrition and Food Science, (334) 844-3269; Writer: Jim Langcuster, Extension News and Public Affairs Specialist, (334) 844-5686.]

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