Healthy Kitchen Practices

Whole Foods, a company that has built its reputation on supplying the health conscious consumer with a higher quality of product, was recently involved in a recall, according to a New York Times article. The recall involved ground beef that reportedly sickened customers in two different states.

Recalls are a frequent headline in today's news, including food for our family and pets. Yet, it isn't just what's happening with the suppliers of our food that can make us sick. What we do in our own kitchens can also be deadly. While we may not be able to directly control the behavior of food suppliers, once the product is in our home there are steps to ensure we are serving up safe meals to our family.

For those chefs who enjoy marinating their meats before cooking, do your marinating in the refrigerator. Dangerous bacteria will grow at room temperature, and you'll be enhancing more than the flavor if you fail to implement safe marinating practices. After you cook your meat, boil the marinade that the meat was sitting in, for at least one minute, if you plan to serve it with your cooked meat. When you take that raw meat out to the grill, bring the cooked meat back on a clean plate.

After cutting up chicken or other meat, sanitize the prep area before you start working on other food. If you cut your raw chicken with a knife, and then later use that same knife to prepare your salad, you'll be making people sick.

At one time it was recommended to rinse your chicken prior to cooking. Yet, now some kitchen safety experts advise against that practice, reasoning the chances of raw chicken juice getting onto other food after the washing, poses a greater health threat than preparing unwashed chicken. But, if you do rinse your chicken in the sink, be mindful of where those juices might have splashed, when you wash down the area.

The kitchen sponge can also be a deadly germ carrying vehicle. If you use a sponge, remember to run it through the dishwasher, and replace it frequently. I recall a party we had at our home, and a guest spilled something on our floor. They grabbed my clean sponge, and cleaned up the mess, then replaced the sponge where I kept it. Had I not witnessed the action, the same sponge that cleaned up the floor where my cat tromps and shoes walk, would be touching the counter where I prepare my food.

Washing your hands before and after preparing food, keeping your foods from cross contaminating each other, using clean utensils and being mindful of storage temperatures will go a long way in keeping your family safe from food born illnesses generated from your kitchen.