Your cutting board may be dirtier than your toilet seat. Here's a list of the germiest spots in your kitchen

Your cutting board may be dirtier than your toilet seat. Here's a list of the germiest spots in your kitchen
PHOTO: Unsplash

If you think your toilet is the only place festering with germs, you'll be surprised to know that your kitchen is another hotbed for germs to thrive in your home. 

In fact, your kitchen may be dirtier than a toilet seat. "In most cases, it’s safer to make a salad on a toilet seat than it is to make one on a cutting board," said Charles Gerba, a microbiologist and professor at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

In a new study by Currys PC World with UK lab technician expert Jonathan Hughes, swab tests were conducted to reveal the dirtiest areas in the kitchen. The kitchens were tested for pathogens such as Salmonella, Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Faecal streptococci (FS), which can cause diarrhoea, vomiting, fever, nausea and many other physical discomforts.

It's timely, given that since the coronavirus pandemic broke out, people have been ramping up their efforts to keep their homes clean. In Singapore, many have also been spending more time in their kitchens baking and cooking since the mandate has been to stay at home.  

Here are some areas in the kitchen where you'll find the most and least germs, and some tips on how we can keep them clean.

Areas with the most germs

Sponge

As sponges are porous in nature and are nearly always damp, they are a breeding ground for a host of germs.

When asked, most of the volunteers who participated in this study thought that the germiest area in their kitchen was the rubbish bin. But as it turns out, the kitchen sponge is teeming with a slew of germs. 

88 per cent of the sponges that were tested had Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), 25 per cent tested positive or FS and 12 per cent had E. coil.

To preventing germs from spreading from the sponge to dishes and other areas of the kitchen, Hughes suggests changing the sponge once every week or two weeks. 

Sink

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The sink is where we wash our vegetables and raw meats. It's also where we do our dirty dishes, so it's unsurprising that the sink contains harmful bacteria and germs.

100 per cent of the sinks tested positive for P. aeruginosa and 25 per cent contained FS, indicating it is contaminated with fecal material discharged through humans or animals.

In an interview with Today, Gerba advises that the sink should be cleaned with disinfectant products made for the kitchen. In fact, he discourages using homemade cleaning products such as vinegar and lemon juice, as "they can't clean really bad pathogens, so the Environmental Protection Agency (in the US) doesn’t recommend using them as an alternative."

Alternatively, Gerba suggested the following: "Wash the sink with hot, soapy water, especially after handling meat and poultry. Wipe out the sink using disinfectant kitchen wipes every day."

Fridge

Every time we put a new item into the fridge, we're introducing new germs and bacteria. And this gives rise to cross-contamination from food packaging, as well as raw food items and unwashed produce. And 88 per cent of fridge shelves tested came back positive for P. aeruginosa. 

As this pathogen usually thrives in higher temperatures, one way to keep the germs at bay is by decreasing your fridge's temperature to between zero and five degrees Celcius to slow down the growth of germs.

Areas with the least germs

Oven handle

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Good news for those who bake on the regular, the study found that the oven handle had the lowest bacterial count in the kitchen, even though it's exposed to oil and grease. 

50 per cent of oven handles had no trace of bacteria. That's not to say that you should overlook it while giving your kitchen a deep cleaning. 

This is as the other half of the tested handles had P. aeruginosa, and 13 per cent of these handles contained FS. So you should certainly still wipe down your oven handles. 

Hughes suggested: “As part of your weekly deep clean, clean and disinfect the outside surfaces of appliances that you use, particularly those you handle frequently like fridge and oven door handles, and microwaves.”

Kitchen floor

Even though, 100 per cent of the floors tested positive for P. aeruginosa, it's still considered to be cleaner than the sponge, as the floors contained a lower percentage of other pathogens.

That said, the "five-second rule" should still not apply when it comes to eating food that has dropped on the floor. 

Tips for maintaining a clean kitchen

Clean regularly

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To prevent your kitchen from becoming a cesspool of germs, Hughes said: "Cleaning with hot soapy water after each use, combined with a weekly clean using a disinfectant such as a dilute bleach solution. This is sufficient to maintain a hygienic kitchen with very low bacterial levels." 

Allow for 'kill time'

When you're using bleach, allow it to activate by giving it a minimum of three minutes to sit on surfaces before wiping them down with a clean cloth.

Alternatively, you can follow the cleaning instructions on the packaging to ensure the disinfectant effectively kills germs. 

Wash your hands and clean your cookware before cooking

Due to the pandemic, we've been taught to wash our hands often, and we should always do this before and after preparing food, especially when we're handling raw meat and vegetables to prevent the spread of bacteria.

Likewise, before cooking, give your kitchenware and utensils a clean before using them, and make sure to wipe down any surface you're working on.

Don't wash raw meat

A common mistake that most people make is washing raw meat before cooking it.

Food safety researcher and associate professor at Drexel University Jennifer Quinlan shared: "If you wash it, you're more likely to spray bacteria all over the kitchen and yourself." 

Germs and bacteria from the raw meat can contaminate the surrounding surfaces through a process called aerosolisation when it's being washed.

As all germs in raw chicken will be killed when it is cooked thoroughly, you should skip washing the meat and avoid spreading the bacteria on your hands, clothes and surfaces.

Cook food thoroughly 

The best way to kill bacteria on raw food is by cooking it thoroughly. So make sure all meat is cooked right through, and that your dish is piping hot after you reheat it to kill bacteria.

melissagoh@asiaone.com

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