Why a clean kitchen is necessary to safe food preparation – Part 15
You’ll be shocked to learn about some common mistakes in the kitchen that can impact you and your family’s health.And they’re not the ones you might expect!
Most mistakes involve cleaning practices as they pertain to you and what you bring into your kitchen. When you bring produce home from the market, do you wash it? Most people answer “yes” to that question, but did you also know that washing items and then stashing them away in the refrigerator or in a basket on the counter, can actually encourage the growth of bacteria? Mold can take hold quickly in the minimal amounts of moisture that are left behind after you rinse those items. It is far better to rinse items right before you use them.
What fruits and vegetables do you even wash? The ones with edible skin? Did you know that you need to wash everything? Think about it. If the surface of the item is dirty, what happens when you cut into that apple, pear or banana? Where do you think tht bacteria is going to travel? That’s right. It travels directly inside the banana through the incision you’ve just made. You want to be sure to not only wash everything, but whenever possible scrub the item as well so that dirt particles that cling or are barely visible will also be removed. Once you’ve scrubbed your produce and/or sliced it, be sure to use hot water to wash those cutting utensils as well. Along the same lines, it is advisable to remove stems from things like peppers, squash, and strawberries after the item has been washed. Same reason. Don’t create a little highway for the dirt to hitch hike directly inside what you are about to feed your family. Also keep unwashed produce away from clean surfaces.
Watch out for those dish towels! This is the toughest one for me. I like to have that towel at my beck and call. It’s my security blanket in the kitchen! Bad idea though. The towel is, itself, a major transporter of germs. We use it to wipe our hands, dry produce, wipe the counter,etc. Stick to paper towels and use that towel strictly for drying clean items and utensils.
Here’s another trouble zone. Do you wash your hands before you begin to prep foods? I sure hope you said “yes” to that one. Unfortunately, it just isn’t enough. You need to use soap, wash hands for about the time it takes to recite the alphabet, and do it throughout the prepping process. When you switch from meat to veggies, or from mixing a salad dressing to cutting tomatoes, wash, wash, and wash again. I like to keep some hand lotion
Related posts:
- Why a clean kitchen is necessary to safe food preparation
- Why a clean kitchen is necessary to safe food preparation – Part 2
- Why a clean kitchen is necessary to safe food preparation – Part 12
Tagged with: Dirt Particles • Growth Of Bacteria • Security Blanket
Filed under: Kitchen Photos
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