Food Safety Through Soap and Hot Water
The simple act of washing with soap and water is vital for food safety because it prevents the spread of harmful bacteria.
So what should you clean? We'll identify different areas of your kitchen where bacteria like to lurk.
Clean Hands
Wash hands before and during cooking, especially after touching raw meat and poultry. Wash for at least 20 seconds with warm, soapy water—about the time it takes to sing "Happy Birthday."
Clean Cutting Boards
Thorough scrubbing with hot, soapy water effectively cleans all cutting boards. Dishwasher-safe boards can go in the dishwasher, but wooden boards should never be put in the dishwasher.
Clean Sink
The kitchen sink, especially the drain, contains more bacteria than the garbage bin, and bacteria can survive up to 60 hours in the kitchen. Hot, soapy water effectively eliminates bacteria. For extra precaution, regularly clean areas with 1 tablespoon of bleach per quart of water.
Clean Sponges
Simply rinsing a sponge in hot water and wringing it out does not sufficiently clean it, so we turned to NSF International, a public health and safety organization that develops standards and certifications. They proposed three methods [in all three methods, the sponge should be completely air-dried before reuse]:
Run your sponge through the dishwasher's heated dry cycle, which reaches at least 155 degrees, preferably every time you run the dishwasher.
Microwave your damp sponge for at least 2 minutes to sanitize it. (Caution: High-powered microwaves can burn sponges.)
Submerge your sponge in a solution of ¾ cup bleach to 1 gallon water for at least five minutes, then rinse.
Clean Kitchen
Prevent cross-contamination by washing utensils with hot, soapy water and keeping raw and cooked foods separate.
Put Up Barriers Cover items that touch both raw and cooked food, like scales and platters, with aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Discard the covering after use. Similarly, wrap your cutting board in plastic wrap before pounding meat on it.
Don’t Rinse Raw Meat and Poultry Don't rinse raw meat and poultry, as this spreads contaminants. Only rinse brined food, then clean and sanitize the sink. Cooking to a safe internal temperature kills bacteria more effectively than rinsing.
Safer Seasonings Although salt kills bacteria, it can live on salt containers. To avoid contamination, mix salt and pepper in a bowl before seasoning meat.
Don’t Recycle Used Marinades Reusing marinades is unsafe due to contamination from raw meat juice. To create a sauce for cooked meat, reserve some marinade and set it aside before adding the rest to the raw meat.
