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| Ew! What's in Kitchen Sponges? |
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| Kathy |
| 04/11/04 at 14:03:08 |
| Ew! What's in Kitchen Sponges? If you have used your kitchen sponge longer than two or three days, listen up: It's swimming with millions of bacteria, specifically E. coli, salmonella, or campylobacter. That's the word from Elizabeth Scott, co-director of the Simmons Center for Hygiene and Health in the Home at Simmons College in Boston, who told The New York Times, "That means that any time you use the sponge to wipe up a surface you are potentially spreading those pathogens." Your No. 1 worry for food-borne illnesses is your own kitchen. Although babies and the elderly are most at risk for such illnesses, anyone--no matter how healthy and strong--can easily get sick from these pathogens when they are allowed to multiply on food. There are approximately 76 million cases of food-borne illnesses annually, and most of those occur from pathogens in our own homes. Sponges aren't the only culprits. Cooks who don't wash their hands before preparing food can also breed illness. Janet Anderson, clinical associate professor of nutrition and food sciences at Utah State University, put it this way when she told The Times, "Everybody is so acutely aware of mad cow disease, but people aren't aware of the fact that they don't even wash their hands when they enter their kitchens, which is a much greater risk." When Anderson filmed more than 100 people preparing dinner, only 34 percent of the participants washed their hands before cooking, and most of those didn't even use soap. So what can you do? Wash your hands in hot, soapy water for at least 20 seconds before you begin preparing food. This not only rinses off the surface bacteria, but also makes it difficult for bacteria to cling to your skin. Wash them again after you touch raw meat, fish, or vegetables. Kill the harmful bacteria from your cellulose sponges by microwaving them on high for one minute. Do it every day. Launder or microwave dishcloths regularly. Although wooden cutting boards are more likely to harbor bacteria than plastic or rubber cutting boards, wood isn't all bad. Dean Cliver, a professor of food safety at the University of California, Davis, told The New York Times that cellulose in wood absorbs bacteria--but will not release it. "We've never been able to get the bacteria down in the wood back up on the knife to contaminate food later," he said. Plastic cutting boards are not 100 percent safe. Bacteria does get into the little knife cuts made in the plastic. While 90 percent of the bacteria die in a dishwasher during the drying period, 10 percent don't die and can live for weeks. Make sure the water in your dishwasher is hotter than 140 degrees or bacteria will survive. If the water temperature is lower than that, bacteria on a plastic cutting board will actually be spread around to other items in the dishwasher. Kitchens that look the cleanest are often the dirtiest. People who wipe their counters a lot often spread bacteria in the process. In a University of Arizona study, the "cleanest" kitchens were those of bachelors who never wiped up and just put the dirty dishes in the sink. Go figure. Remember this: No matter how often you nuke your sponges and wash your cutting boards, no kitchen will ever be germ-free. |
| Re: Ew! What's in Kitchen Sponges? |
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| veiled |
| 04/12/04 at 00:47:00 |
| How about Bounty?......the quicker picker upper instead. |
| Re: Ew! What's in Kitchen Sponges? |
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| Caraj |
| 04/12/04 at 03:19:25 |
| When I was visiting family who used sponges and I was helping cleaning up after meals, I would put the sponge in with the dishes in the dishwasher. I had read about this, sponges being a breeding ground for bacteria. :( At home I do not use them, I use a new dish cloth each time I do dishes and a different dish towel each time to dry. And yes, when it comes to towels and clothes, I do a lot of laundry :) As for cutting boards, always have 2, one to use only for veggies and fruits and another use strictly for meats. Yes I am near fanatical ::) when it comes to kitchen cleanliness ;) I even have 2 different dehydraters, one for meats (jerky) and another for fruits and veggies and have them marked. |
| 04/12/04 at 03:22:44 |
| Caraj |
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