Here’s a statistic that’s sure to upset your stomach: By the end of 2006 more than 76 million Americans will have gotten sick from eating bad food. Even more frightening: Food poisoning will kill 5000 of them. Food safety experts say blame it on dirty hands and dirty kitchens.
Personally, I didn’t find the statistics to be that shocking. About six years ago I participated in a study for a product called “Glo-Germ.” It’s a non-toxic substance that simulates germs commonly found in household kitchens like e-coli and salmonella. The product allows researchers to see how quickly germs spread in a short amount of time.
In my case I was placed in a kitchen and told to prepare a chicken dish that I would serve to my family. (I wasn’t married at the time so I was more concerned with the cooking part than I was with the cleaning part.) Prior to my meal preparation, researchers coated my chicken with Glo-Germ and set me to work.
I had no problem remembering to wash my hands thoroughly before and after touching the raw chicken. I also made sure I used different cutting boards for the vegetables and potatoes. I even properly disposed of the parts of the chicken I was not going to use. All great measures to practice, unfortunately, I did make several mistakes. When I was through with my dish, researchers used a black light to illuminate every speck of Glo-Germ left around the kitchen… and there were quite a few. Some around the garbage can; a few near the sink and counter; quite a bit on the dishwasher; but nothing compared to the marks left on the kitchen sink’s faucet handle.
So what did I learn (and what you should keep in mind) from this experiment? Cross contamination can occur even when you think your hands are clean. When you are preparing a meal for your family how many times have you unconsciously touched a cabinet knob, a door handle or a faucet handle? If you are handling meat (most of which carries bacteria that can potentially harm you) and are not thoroughly scrubbing your hands you can be spreading germs and not even know it.
Even after I washed my hands the black light still found traces of Glo-Germ on my palms and around my fingernails. To completely remove bacteria from your hands, doctors recommend vigorously scrubbing the back of your hands; in between your fingers; around your nails; and they say, don’t forget your wrists. The entire cleaning routine should take about 20 to 30 seconds. It’s a short amount of time that can go a long way to help protect you and your family from a potentially deadly situation.