Food poisoning is one of the most prevalent diseases today. It starts out a little uncomfortable a few hours after eating and turns into a fatal episode that requires hospitalization.
The most common causes are Salmonella E. coli and Listeria bacteria. And, they can be a common problem in chef kitchens.
Kitchen towels, dish rags and brushes, cutting boards, kitchen sinks, doors, drawers and refrigerator handles are common breeding grounds for bacteria. Even small things like timers, whisk handles, paper mills and salt shakers can become breeding grounds for bacteria. You can also add oil bottles, spice jars, openers and controls to your stove or oven.
The culprit is chicken and other poultry, eggs, raw meat, dairy products and fresh fruits and vegetables as well as food for bacteria can also be stored.
In addition to washing your hands regularly while cooking, here is a list of things you can do in your kitchen to reduce the chances of food poisoning:
1. When you bring home poultry from the supermarket, rinse it in ice cold water and put it in the fridge right away. Cook as soon as possible.
2. Wash your hands and everything related to raw poultry.
3. Do not wash, re-use knives, cutting boards, towels or anything that touches green poultry without washing. That means do not use a cutting board or knife to cut vegetables or uncooked ones immediately.
4. Wash your hands after going to the bathroom. Your family is no exception to your personal E-coli!
5. Wash all vegetables as soon as they are brought home from the market. It contains almost all other fruits including watermelons, strawberries, peaches, mangoes, grapes and bananas.
6. Use a lot of disposable paper towels. Dish rags and towels are one of the largest breeding grounds for bacteria.
7. Keep your kitchen counter clean. Use dilute bleach or disinfectant before and after food preparation.
8. Keep foods in the fridge for as long as possible and read the labels on spices, sauces, jams and jellies and see if they need refrigeration after opening. Do not put mayonnaise on the counter on hot summer days! This applies to everything made with mayonnaise.
9. Eggs should be washed gently in ice cold water before placing in the refrigerator. There is nothing clean in the eggs that come out of the chicken nest.
10. Buy your meat, especially hamburgers, from a reputable butcher shop.
11. Make sure you have a meat thermometer and make sure all meat is cooked to the proper temperature **** Dangerous bacteria in meat, poultry and fish.
12. Wash your hands !! I can not repeat enough!
13. Plan your grocery shopping so that you can go home as soon as you buy perishable food.
14. Do not buy if the fish smells like fish! If there is any "off" smell or
If you are addicted to it, do not buy.
15. If the can or jar bursts as soon as it is opened, throw it away or better yet, take it back to the store.
16. Place objects on the sink, not in it. This area is infested with bacteria. Sterilize it often, but still keep edible food away from it.
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