:quality(85)//cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/TCRPBDSRDFGY5NMO5JKF7PASAU.jpg "An unexpected place is one of the most germiest places in the kitchen 1")
Which part of your kitchen do you think is the most dangerous? The knife drawer? The gas oven?
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According to a recent study published in the Food Protection Journal, it might be a much less obvious place. Researchers commissioned by the Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service from the United States recruited 371 people for a study on how substances can contaminate different foods in our kitchens.
More importantly, participants thought they were trying new recipes. In fact, they were participating in a study on cross contamination. According to the latest scientific review of the Food Standards Agency, Some 2.4 million cases of foodborne illness occur each year in the UK alone.
Benjamin Chapmanone of the lead authors of the US study, said: “Cross-contamination – pathogens from raw meat or seafood are usually transferred to surfaces or other foods by hands or utensils – is one of the most common most important factors to reduce the possibility of contract diseases of food origin at home.
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cook for safe temperatures and the personal hygiene are important factors in the spread of infections norovirus, hepatitis A and Shigella. But, according to the expert, “many pathogens can be transmitted by cross-contamination: salmonella, campylobacter, pathogenic E. coli, listeria…”.
In the same line, Anthony Wilson, microbiologist of the UK Food Standards Agency, He claimed: “Symptoms range from relatively mild discomfort to severe illness that can be life threatening for some people.”
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“Anyone can get food poisoning, but some people are at higher risk, such as pregnant women, young children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems,” he said.
Also, as Chapman noted, of all the causes of food poisoning, cross-contamination “is a particularly sensitive problem.” “Bacteria and viruses cannot be seen physically, so it is very difficult to understand what Pathogens there may be some in the kitchen,” he said. Or, at least, that was before his study shed light on these pathogens.
For the research, volunteer participants were asked to prepare a Turkey Burger from zero. Unbeknownst to them, their minced meat she had been inoculated with a harmless tracer bacteria called MS2. “It’s quite common not to tell individuals that they are part of this type of investigation,” he said. Donald Schaffner, lead author of the study and a professor in the Department of Food Science at Rutgers School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, in New Jersey. Because?
“This knowledge may have caused them to behave differently. We want them to behave normally like they would in the kitchen,” he said. utensils to countertops – looking for signs of cross-contamination.
The result? “The surfaces on which we observe microorganisms were: the knife handle, the cutting board, the skillet and electric handles, the inside surface of the sink, the dishcloth and sponge, the faucet handle, the soap dispenser, the handle from the fridge and the lid of the trash can,” Schaffner explained.
There weren’t any big surprises, but there was some good news on that front: “On most surfaces, positivity does not exceed 20%.
However, there was an unexpected case. And hotspot which surprised even the researchers. THE Spice jars. “He 48% samples showed signs of cross-contamination”, Schaffner explained. “They also had the highest concentrations of the microorganism Highlighter”.
The spice jars weren’t just the surface most of the time contaminated in the kitchen, but also used to be the more heavily or intensely contaminated. More than the basket lid, the knife or even the sink. Because?
“Consumers do not necessarily think about cleaning or decontaminating spice containers after cooking, as they are not often flagged as high-risk surfaces for cross-contamination in consumer messaging,” the study concludes. We diligently spray and clean our cutting boards, knives and sinks. But we forgot an important element. How dangerous is the spice rack?
“If you were to handle a contaminated spice container and accidentally put your finger in your mouth, you could ingest pathogens and get sick,” Schaffner said. But it’s hard to know how harmful or dangerous they may be containers of spices for our health”.
According to the expert, “Once the microorganism is transferred to the spice container, it dies slowly over time. But it is certainly possible for the organism to be detected days or, in some cases, weeks later. late.”
His advice? “Every time we touch raw meat, we are susceptible to getting pathogens on our hands. Anything we touch after touching raw meat is going to be contaminated with these pathogens. Even the spice jar that we were using in the middle of meal preparation. So, we have to wash our hands with soap and water,” he concluded.
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