Dun dun dun!  The kitchen can be a bathhouse for germs and bacteria.  As a matter of fact, improper cleaning or cross contamination can cause some serious health issues.  As a prior salmonella victim, I take all precautions to make sure my kitchen sink, stove, and counter top are wiped clean after every meal I prepare (and sometimes before I prepare just to be safe).  Here are some tips from silive.com in protecting you and your family from falling ill.

Sponges

It’s best not to buy them. Unless you plan on tossing them after a few uses, those nooks and crannies make happy homes for germs. Putting the sponge in the dishwasher and soaking the sponge in bleach is helpful in killing microorganisms, but there comes a point when you’ve just got to throw it out. Consider using a strong paper towel (or two) for light scrubbing. Then dispose of the wad when you’re done: This way you’re not tempted to reuse your makeshift sponge over and over.

Baby in the Bathwater

Be sure to thoroughly scrub the sink (a.k.a. the tub) and the drain after bathing the baby. Wash the sink out with hot soapy water then sanitize with a bleach cleaner.

Hand Washing

This is the most important thing you should do before preparing food. Wash hands under hot, soapy water with agitation for at least 15 seconds. Ideally scrub under fingernails as well. By the way, just because you might use disposable latex or vinyl gloves in food prep, it doesn’t mean you’re in the clear. Change gloves after working with a single item for 20 minutes and never use the same pair of gloves for multiple purposes (i.e. handling oven knobs after working with raw meats, touching lettuce after breading chicken cutlets, etc.). Be mindful to chuck the gloves in the trash between surface contacts.

Managing Compost

Toss your compost collection daily to avoid fruit flies and odors. (Tip: Chuck vegetable matter, used tea bags, etc. into a brown paper bag and add to the composter first thing in the morning.) Rinse eggshells well under hot running water. Accidental hand-to-mouth contact with egg goo may cause salmonella poisoning if the compost isn’t well through the decomposition process. And while human hair and chicken droppings are considered to be ideal compost ingredients, never add human waste, a surefire way to inject pathogens into soil where food is grown.

Freezing

Freeze an item once and once only. After that, food loses its nutritional value and can take on an extraordinary amount of bacteria from fluctuating temps.

Thawing

Rest frozen meats in a deep pan (this prevents juices from overflowing) at the lowest shelf in the refrigerator. Most foods should thaw out within 24 to 36 hours. Dense foods like a turkey need two to three days of thawing. Using the defrost button on the microwave can jumpstart the thawing process safely.

Cooling

Large pots of soup, sauce/gravy and other protein-chocked liquids need to be cooled rapidly. It’s best to plunge the container in an ice bath or store liquids in shallow containers. Messing up on cooling down may result in botulism. And never put sealed hot or warm containers in the fridge. Take the lids off and cool things down on the top shelf of the fridge. (Food cooling on a lower shelf will heat items directly above it.)

Recycling Breadcrumbs

It’s one thing to be frugal but there’s a point where cooks become foolish. Use a little breadcrumb, panko or flour at a time and, for heaven’s sake, throw it all out after using. That’s because egg, chicken, pork, fish or whatever items you’re dunking in a dusting leave behind liquid that rots and breeds bacteria.

The Peanut Corporation of America plant in Blakely, Georgia, was sealed off by federal authorities Monday morning, WALB reported.

The company is accused of knowingly shipping tainted products now linked to nearly 600 illnesses, including eight deaths, in 43 states. The recent outbreak has led to one of the largest food recalls in U.S. history, encompassing more than 1,000 products.

The Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations launched a probe of the company on January 30.

Previously, the Peanut Corporation of America had said said it shipped products only after subsequent tests came back negative for salmonella.

Representatives from the company have not returned repeated calls from CNN.

Ah, the plot thickens.  Seems like the nationwide salmonella outbreak was something that was bound to happen.  The peanut butter plant in Georgia responsible for the outbreak has a history of cleanliness standard violations.  The plant is no longer in operation.

From New York Times.com

The plant in Georgia that produced peanut butter tainted by salmonella has a history of sanitation lapses and was cited repeatedly in 2006 and 2007 for having dirty surfaces and grease residue and dirt buildup throughout the plant, according to health inspection reports. Inspection reports from 2008 found the plant repeatedly in violation of cleanliness standards.

Inspections of the plant in Blakely, Ga., by the State Agriculture Department found areas of rust that could flake into food, gaps in warehouse doors large enough for rodents to get through, unmarked spray bottles and containers and numerous violations of other practices designed to prevent food contamination.

Here are some of the findings from the State Agriculture Department’s inspection report:

• “The food-contact surfaces of re-work kettle in the butter room department were not properly cleaned and sanitized.”
• “The food-contact surfaces of the bulk oil roast transfer belt” in a particular room “were not properly cleaned and sanitized. The food-contact surfaces of pan without wheels in the blanching department were not properly cleaned and sanitized.”
• “clean peanut butter buckets stored uncovered,”
• “wiping cloth” to “cover crack on surge bin”

Read

More companies have joined the peanut butter recall list in the attempt to mitigate salmonella exposure to the public.  General Mills Inc., Kroger Co., Safeway Inc., and Meijer Inc. are the recent addtions to the list.  The source of the outbreak has been traced back to Peanut Corporation of America’s peanut butter and peanut paste plant in Georgia.

Head on over to the FDA’s website for a complete list of recalled products.

Full article here

The source of the salmonella outbreak that has spread to 43 states has been traced back to a peanut butter supplier. The peanut butter was sold to food service providers by King Nut Companies, so those off-the-shelf brands like Skippy and Jif look to be quite alright. The outbreak has sickened over 400 people and is also linked to three possible deaths. About two years ago, a similar salmonella outbreak came from Peter Pan brand peanut butter and was linked to at least 625 cases.

Read the full article here

~ Kin

The source of a salmonella outbreak that has spread to forty-two states is still unknown.  So far, nearly 400 people have been sickened.

Read

~ Kin

The source of the tomato salmonella outbreak still eludes the food and safety health officials.  The outbreak so far has affected more than 900 people nationwide.  What’s worse is that the FDA is now questioning the source of the outbreak.  It might not be the tomatoes after all.   The other suspects are jalapeno peppers, Serrano peppers, and yes, my beloved cilantro.  What is one to do without any cilantro?
Source

~ Kin