PrintKeeping a sanitary kitchen
I'm just curious if anyone washes off their packages of meat, lunch-meat, cheese and other pre-packaged foods? I drive my hubby nuts because I insist on washing and drying packages from the store before we open them...but if you've seen where those packages have been dropped and whatnot...*shiver* I also bleach my counters and cutting boards after working with any raw fish or raw meat. Are any of you foodies as paranoid as me?
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16 Comments:
I certainly don't wash packages, don't bleach anything, use sponges until they crumble. Wipe surfaces with wet paper towels or a sponge or whatever's handy. No deaths yet.
BaHa at 2:00PM on 08/01/07
I'm not such a neatnik but my mother is, she washes everything before she puts it in the fridge, so don't feel bad, I'm quite sure you aren't the only one. I read somewhere that the best way to keep sponges sanitary is to saturate them with water and pop them in the micro for a couple of minutes. I don't bleach anything either, I usually just give everything a good scrub with hot soapy water and let it dry out thoroughly. If there isn't any fat or moisture the bacteria really should die out by themselves, at least thats the way it works in my head.
mia_pia at 2:14PM on 08/01/07
I use vinegar and baking soda alot when I am cleaning my kitchen. The cobination of the two does a great job, and it's less harmful them most kitchen cleaning products. If you do a search on google, you'll get a tone of idea's.
Lilartist at 2:32PM on 08/01/07
I don't wash my packages, but I do use an antibacterial cleaner (No names but it has 409 uses) on my stove top and counters. I also bleach my cutting boards at least once a week and after cutting any kind of meat. I also use bleach to clean my scrub pads and dish rags. I know it's probably a little overboard but it's the way I learned it working in restaurants. Same as BaHa ... no deaths yet.
TG
dukeofpornia at 2:38PM on 08/01/07
I'm not much of a clean freak but I do use a bleach solution on my cutting boards and counter tops especially when cutting meat and poultry. I also use a dish soap with bleach.
Colorado Jim at 2:42PM on 08/01/07
I use 70% isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol that I keep in large misters in the bathroom AND kitchen. I regularly mist the sink, counters, cutting boards, etc. and scrub them with hot soapy water as well. I would use a bleach solution, but the smell is a bit too swimming-pool for me.
Tom Steele at 3:12PM on 08/01/07
Hot water & baking soda here as well ..bleach makes me sick. I bring home the sanitary solution we use in our kitchen at the pizza shop & use that alot, I believe clorox is making a home version of the same stuff now. The hubbin does the bleach thing with cutting boards after meats, etc...
Kim Nyland at 4:20PM on 08/01/07
This is why I bought a 7 cycle Ge Profile dishwasher with anti-bacterial cycle. When I want to boil the heck out of something I want a guarantee that its clean. Also I bleach my sink daily. With Lemon Clorox. A sink is a gutter. The counter tops get clorox wipes.
JerzeeTomato at 4:23PM on 08/01/07
It is now well-known that anitbacterials lead to lowered resistance to bacteria. No thanks.
BaHa at 4:50PM on 08/01/07
When i bring home meats, unless it is from my butcher, I wash everything under water. For some reason, when i pick up my meat from the butcher i consider it clean, which might not be true, but I am, nevertheless, more comfortable with its' cleanliness.
Chicken, however, is different. I am extremely observant with cleaning everything i touch including taps or door of fridge and then after cleaning, I have a bottle of lemon juice that I use as a final rub.
Natalie Sztern at 5:31PM on 08/01/07
Go vegetarian! No worries about salmonella! (Although your spinach might have E. Coli on it... ;)
charm city cupcake at 7:40PM on 08/01/07
If you regard what you are eating as toxic, you shouldn't be eating it. I get my chicken from a farmer. No worries. I'd eat chicken sushi.
BaHa at 12:12AM on 08/02/07
I'm so glad I'm not the only one that is perhaps a wee bit over-vigilant on the cleaning angle. lol
I had a wee trauma last week and had a bout of food poisoning [lasted FOUR days and all I could down was crackers and smart water] that was so bad I thought I was gonna die...and stupid me ate a fast food burger two days before it 'hit me' and that's the only thing I can attribute to my torturous ailment. I barely EVER venture on the fast-food but once or twice a year and BOY did I learn my lesson.
I'd rather be safe than sorry is all I'm sayin'.
Speaking of cleaning..."FIT" just came back on the market! It's an awesome vege/fruit cleaner... I didn't like their website much though [no 1-800 number to call that I could find] but my order came in a timely fashion thank goodness.
Here's the link if anyone is interested:
http://www.tryfit.com/index.php
cheffy at 1:53AM on 08/02/07
I'm with BaHa- things like overuse of antibacterials and air-conditioners lessen your natural resistance to bacteria and more. I live in Texas and we didn't have air-conditioning 'til I was fifteen. As for kitchen cleaning, we always wipe everything down with hot water and soap, meat or not. No deaths OR sickness yet, though it probably helps that most of our groceries are organic.
Christina at 12:05AM on 08/05/07
I try to deal with uncooked meat only in the sink...it's makes cleaning up easier.
elaine at 12:12PM on 08/05/07
I definitely understand your ways cheffy! I am a germophobe in life in general, so when it comes to food and the kitchen, you bet it is no different! I don't use bleach necessarily, but I do use hot water for a lot of my sanitation. I have a hot water tap in my sink so it's pretty convenient.
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 4:58PM on 08/07/07