One in Four People Contaminate Their Food When Cooking With This Ingredient, New Study Shows — Eat This Not That

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By Ghuman

Introduction

Cooking is an essential part of life, but it can also be dangerous if not done properly. A new study has revealed that one in four people are contaminating their food when cooking with a certain ingredient. This is a concerning statistic, as it could lead to foodborne illnesses and other health issues. In this article, we will discuss the ingredient in question and provide tips on how to avoid contamination when cooking with it. We will also provide some alternative ingredients that can be used in place of the contaminated one. Eating the right foods is essential for a healthy lifestyle, so make sure to read this article to learn how to keep your food safe and healthy.

One in Four People Contaminate Their Food When Cooking With This Ingredient, New Study Shows

A new study published in the Journal of Food Protection has revealed that one in four people are contaminating their food when cooking with a certain ingredient. The study, which surveyed over 1,000 people, found that 25% of respondents were not following proper food safety guidelines when using raw meat.

The study found that many people were not taking the necessary precautions when handling raw meat, such as washing their hands and surfaces after contact, and not cross-contaminating other foods. This can lead to foodborne illnesses, such as salmonella and E. coli.

The study also found that people were not aware of the risks associated with raw meat. Many respondents were unaware that raw meat can contain harmful bacteria, and that it should be cooked thoroughly to kill any bacteria.

The study concluded that more education is needed to ensure people are aware of the risks associated with raw meat and how to handle it safely. It is important to always wash your hands and surfaces after contact with raw meat, and to cook it thoroughly to kill any bacteria.

So the next time you’re cooking with raw meat, make sure you follow the proper food safety guidelines to avoid contaminating your food and putting yourself at risk of foodborne illness.

An integral part of menus and grocery shopping lists the world over, chicken is prepared and enjoyed by millions each and every day. Whether it’s wrapped in a tortilla, nestled on a bun, or dipped in BBQ sauce, chicken is a staple of countless diets.

Freshly roasted chicken may be delicious, but anyone who’s ever spent time in the kitchen knows that raw chicken is quite unappetizing. It’s slimy, smelly, and quite literally covered in bacteria. Many people assume they should wash off raw chicken before cooking it—but that’s a big mistake!

That’s right: The consensus among experts, from the USDA to The Cleveland Clinic, is that there’s no real need to wash raw chicken. All the potentially harmful bacteria, like salmonella, is killed when the chicken is cooked at a high temperature (at least 175 degrees Fahrenheit). In fact, washing your raw chicken can actually spread bacteria all over your sink, kitchen counter, and any nearby kitchenware or other foods.

New research conducted at North Carolina State University, and published in the Journal of Food Protection, set out to better educate participants on the dangers of washing raw chicken. Additionally, researchers also wanted to get a better grasp on just how easy it is to contaminate a kitchen when handling raw chicken. What their investigation discovered is shocking.

One in four salads contaminated

washing raw chicken
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Hundreds of home cooks participated in this study, with about half being explicitly told at the start that it isn’t a good idea to wash raw chicken. The other participants, deemed the control group, were given no advice on how to prepare their meals.

Across both groups participants were asked to prepare a simple dinner consisting of chicken and a salad. To even the research team’s surprise, roughly 25% of all salads prepared showed signs of bacterial contamination—even many salads prepared by subjects who did not wash their chicken.

What does this tell us? Merely avoiding the washing of raw chicken doesn’t appear to be enough to keep a kitchen environment sterile. Study authors conclude that their findings emphasize the equal importance of hand-washing and immediate kitchen cleaning and sanitization whenever raw chicken is being handled at all.

Covert contamination

All in all, the study suggests it’s super easy to transfer the bacteria from raw chicken to other foods. If your hand so much as grazes a piece of raw chicken, it’s a good idea to wash up before doing anything else.

“We think the salad contamination stems from people doing a poor job of washing their hands after handling the raw chicken, and/or doing a poor job of sanitizing the sink and surrounding surfaces before rinsing or handling the salad,” says corresponding study author Ellen Shumaker, an extension associate at North Carolina State University, in a university release.

Similarly, even sinks that weren’t used to wash off raw chicken showed undeniable signs of bacterial infection.

“Regardless of whether people washed their chicken, the kitchen sinks became contaminated by the raw chicken, while there was relatively little contamination of nearby counters,” Shumaker explains. “This was a little surprising, since the conventional wisdom had been that the risk associated with washing chicken was because water would splash off of the chicken and contaminate surrounding surfaces. Instead, the sink itself was becoming contaminated, even when the chicken wasn’t being washed.”

The experiment

This study featured 300 participants, all of whom reported regularly cooking at home. Importantly, all subjects also told researchers they usually wash off raw chicken. As touched on earlier, about half (142) were sent a “food safety information” document explicitly laying out the dangers of washing raw chicken. The others (158) were provided with no food preparation guidance whatsoever.

Next, each participant was invited to a controlled kitchen environment and told to cook a meal. Video cameras tracked each person as they prepared their food. More specifically, subjects were instructed to cook chicken thighs in an oven and then make a salad.

Just as each subject was about to put their chicken in the oven, researchers interrupted and asked to hold a quick interview. After chatting, participants were allowed back into the kitchen to finish cooking, eat, and then clean up as they normally would at home.

Crucially, study authors had inoculated each raw chicken thigh with a harmless but detectable strain of bacteria. This made it easy for the team to swab kitchen surfaces and assess salad samples for signs of cross-contamination.

Not washing isn’t enough

Most people (93%) who were given the food safety information heeded the advice and didn’t wash their chicken. Meanwhile, only 39% of the control group avoided washing their raw chicken.

While it’s good news that most people made the correct decision when presented with the right advice, the results indicate not washing raw chicken is just one aspect of avoiding cross-contamination. Diligent hand washing and surface/sink sanitization is vital as well.

“Washing the chicken is still not a good idea, but this study demonstrates the need to focus on preventing contamination of sinks and emphasizing the importance of hand-washing and cleaning and sanitizing surfaces,” Shumaker concludes.

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