Washing the chicken under the tap, keeping the eggs in the fridge, using wooden utensils… These are common practices in most homes that entail risks that are generally unknown to the consumer. Food safety experts or food technologists strive every day to convince both individuals and companies of how dangerous it can be to handle food and kitchen utensils incorrectly. However, the usual response is usually “I’ve always done it that way and nothing has ever happened to me”. Clinging to this idea is a mistake, since food poisoning is far from being a rare bird, and it does not always manifest itself the day after eating the contaminated food. Identifying its origin can be complex and even more so when the contamination occurs in the kitchen at home.
On World Food Safety Day, a date set by the United Nations General Assembly to raise awareness of the importance of risk prevention, detection and management through food safety, various food safety experts explain what Kitchen practices can favor these poisonings that an average of 600 million people worldwide suffer each year.
The egg is one of the foods most susceptible to presenting pathogenic microorganisms such as salmonella, the bacterium that causes the most outbreaks in Spain. “By passing through the chicken’s cloaca, a hole through which feces are also discarded, this food comes into contact with many microbes,” explains food technologist Mario Sánchez. Despite the fact that the edible part is protected by a shell, it is very sensitive to changes in temperature. For this reason, it is not advisable to place the eggs in the refrigerator door, which opens and closes continuously and, therefore, exposes the food to different temperatures. “Refrigerator manufacturers have convinced us that this is their place by adding oval-shaped spaces in the door, but it is totally discouraged. It is best to keep them on the middle or upper shelves,” recommends Sánchez.
Precisely because of the porosity of the egg shell, it is also not recommended to wash them with water, because they can absorb dirt from the outside. Experts recommend storing them in the fridge without washing and, if they are very dirty, remove it with a brush or a few drops of water just before cooking.
Even if we keep them in the right place in the fridge and don’t clean them with water, eggs can still contain salmonella. How to avoid it? Cooking them at more than 65 °C, which is the only way to kill these bacteria. In the case of preparations with raw eggs, such as mayonnaise or low-curd omelette, we must consume them at the moment to avoid possible poisoning. “If I have a mayonnaise for hours at room temperature, salmonella will multiply and it is easier for us to get sick,” warns LluÃs Riera, food technologist and director of the Saia consultancy. When it is ready, it is best to use it and store it in the fridge. “If we have prepared it at noon, there is no problem with consuming it at night (as long as we keep it properly). But it won’t last much longer when cold,” he adds.
And can we leave preparations that do not include raw eggs at room temperature? Neither. “Sometimes they stay for hours on the hob or in the oven, as if it were a food cabinet. This makes it easier for microorganisms to proliferate, a growth that only stops at temperatures above 65 °C or below 4 °C,” he points out. food technologist and dietitian-nutritionist Beatriz Robles. It is not advisable to keep food still warm in the refrigerator, as it could damage the appliance and spoil the rest of the stored food. But leftovers shouldn’t be outside for more than two hours (and shouldn’t be more than an hour in the summer).
To cool something down quickly, Riera recommends putting the container where it has been cooked (pots, casseroles…) in the sink with ice. Changing the packaging of food can also help it to drop in temperature sooner.
It may seem like a food that needs to be sanitized before cooking, but washing chicken under the tap is not recommended. “With that we will only be able to distribute the bacteria present in the meat throughout the sink, increasing the chances of contaminating other food and kitchen utensils,” says Sánchez. Chicken, specifically, may contain Campylobacter, the bacterium that, according to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), causes the most poisoning. “Cleaning it is unnecessary if we cook it at more than 65 °C,” insists the expert.
Cloths and scourers can also become a nest for microorganisms and contaminate other kitchen utensils if they are not properly disinfected. Leaving them soaking for hours is not a good idea, since it facilitates the appearance of microbes, which develop better and faster in humid environments. “It is recommended to boil the cloths and dry them, or submerge them in water with bleach for half an hour,” explains LluÃs Riera. The water better be cold, says this expert, because when hot this cleaning product loses its disinfecting power.
On the other hand, when the cloth or scourer becomes slimy, they should go straight to the trash. This texture is proof that a biofilm has developed or, what is the same, a colony of bacteria organized by hierarchies that are very difficult to eliminate and that can be harmful.
Another bad kitchen practice that can make us sick is thawing food on the counter. As already mentioned, bacteria grow easily and quickly between 4 and 65 °C and can spoil the product. The best way to defrost is to leave the food in the fridge and let it warm up little by little. “This way we will also prevent the texture from being damaged and the piece is better maintained,” explains Robles. The microwave is another option if we do not have time, but the product can be partially cooked.
They say that wooden utensils do not scratch pans, that it is difficult to burn yourself with them, because they do not conduct heat, and that they give a cozier look to the kitchen. Its benefits, however, do not outweigh its dangers, warns Sánchez. “It is a material that we associate with tradition and grandmother’s cooking, but it is very unsuitable from the point of view of food safety. This is explained because, since it is porous, it absorbs the juices of the food, which remain trapped in the utensil and facilitate the appearance of microorganisms”. They cannot be washed in the dishwasher either, because humidity favors the growth of these microbes, and disinfecting them correctly is complicated.
Cross contamination is known as the passage of bacteria from one food to another, by direct contact or through utensils and surfaces. “It can happen, for example, when using a cutting board to chop meat and some tomatoes. By doing this, the microorganisms from one food will pass to the other, and if the tomato is eaten raw, we could get poisoned,” says Beatriz Robles. It can also happen if we crack an egg in the container where we are going to beat it: the microbes from the shell will impregnate the bowl, contaminating the yolk.
The vegetables that we are going to eat raw, in salads or cold soups, must be properly disinfected. And washing them with water is not enough. “First you have to put them under the tap to get rid of the most visible dirt and then leave them to soak in a container with water and a few drops of food bleach (the packaging usually indicates the exact amount). Finally, they are washed again with water and they can now be consumed”, explains Riera. If the idea is to chop them, it is better to do it once they are clean, because when cutting the vegetables, it is easier for it to become contaminated with bacteria from outside. This step is not necessary in the case of bagged vegetables that are already disinfected.
Cooking food the day before and taking it to work the next day can help us eat healthier, but knowing how to transport it to the office is key if we don’t want it to spoil. “Isothermal bags are going to come in handy to maintain the temperature, but once we get to the workplace, it must go directly to the fridge,” says Robles. If we do not have a refrigerator, the expert recommends placing blocks of ice in the bag. On the other hand, there are some preparations that are better to take home freshly made, such as salads with homemade mayonnaise. “Because this sauce contains raw eggs, it can be more easily contaminated,” she warns. The fruit, on the other hand, it is recommended that we take it whole. “If we cut it, we expose the pulp to possible contamination,” she concludes.