Your kitchen is the heart of your home, and keeping your house safe and clean is imperative to your family's health. This is especially important during the holiday seasons, when guests are constantly coming and going.
For many, a kitchen is centered around delicious home-cooked meals and spending time with relatives. While making your home look and feel clean is important, you can’t forget about sanitizing and disinfecting where the real magic happens—your kitchen.
What is foodborne illness?
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), foodborne illness is a harmful bacteria infection experienced after "swallowing food that has been contaminated with a variety of germs and toxic substances." Nearly 48 million people get sick each year from consuming contaminated meat, poultry and other food.
What causes it?
There are many factors that can lead to cross contamination and thus foodborne illness, whether at a restaurant or in the comfort of your own home. Bacteria that cause foodborne illness find sneaky ways to contaminate your food. However, the most common root of contamination is handling food improperly.
Bacteria come directly from contaminated food, including undercooked or raw meat, poultry, egg and other foods. Some foods actually have a higher chance of spreading bacteria than others. The likelihood of raw or undercooked food, like ground meat, to cross contaminate is much greater than that of fruits and vegetables. However, any food is still at risk of contacting bacteria during any step of the food assembly process: cooling, thawing, washing, prepping, cooking or storing.
Common Causes of Foodborne Illness:
- Norovirus
- Salmonella
- Clostridium perfringens
- Campylobacter
- Staphylococcus aureus (Staph)
Tips to Prevent Foodborne Illness
Meals must be prepared on a surface you have designated for food prep, whether it’s a cutting board or a section of your counter. It is crucial to keep these surfaces clean of any bacteria or pathogens, especially when you’re cooking with meat. We love our turkey, ham and brisket, but cooking with raw meat is a leading cause of foodborne illness at home. Simply using soap and water isn't enough to keep your family safe.
The longer bacteria are left on a surface, the more they multiply. This means that it’s important to quickly disinfect any surfaces that make contact with raw meat. That way, you can rest assured that you’re giving your guests a good meal—not foodborne illness.
You may be a professional chef or the meal provider for your family and still be unaware of how to handle food properly. Follow these tips to make sure you're doing everything you can to prevent disease from spreading in your kitchen.
Keep Raw Food Separate from Cooked Food
When preparing food, make sure to separate raw meat, poultry and seafood from ready-to-eat foods like fresh fruits. Neither type of food should touch each other in any shared space, whether it's on a cutting board or in the sink to thaw. After the food thawed, it's best to cut fresh fruits or vegetables on separate cutting boards from raw meat to prevent cross contamination. If you're able, try to designate certain cutting boards strictly for prepping whole meats—whether you're cutting, adding season or slicing cooked meat. Some professional chefs recommend a color code method for their cutting boards to eliminate most risks of cross contamination.
Adding a little flavor and spice is essential to most dishes. After you marinate food, put it directly into the refrigerator instead of leaving it on the counter.
Raw meat and poultry should be cooked immediately after thawing out. Never try to freeze meat again if it has already been thawed.
Use a Food Thermometer
Many foodborne illnesses are caused by common mistakes made in the kitchen. One simple fix to prevent infection is by using a food thermometer when cooking meat to regulate a safe internal temperature. A safe minimum internal temperature for roast and steaks is 145ºF. Meanwhile when you cook food like poultry and seafood, the proper temperature is at least 165ºF.
To make sure meat has reached a safe temperature, insert a food thermometer into the thickest part of the food and check the gauge to ensure it's at the right temperature. Put perishable food in the refrigerator within 2 hours of preparing it.
Wash Hands, Fruits and Cutting Boards
As important as it is to take care of the counter space and cutting boards when preparing a meal, taking care of the germs on your hands and food is just as critical. Before the start of each meal or cooking process, wash your hands with hot, soapy water for at least 20 seconds. Always wash fruits and vegetables before you place them in a dish or on a board to cut.
In order to maintain a safe and clean space in your kitchen, it's suggested to wash dishes as you are cooking. Once you are are finished using kitchen tools, place them in the sink and run them with soap and hot water. After chopping your veggies, it's recommended to wash cutting boards before you start cooking the next food item. Keep other dishes away from any board that was used to cut raw meat and other foods with a higher risk of contamination. Sanitize the board with one of our sanitizers, wait 10 to 60 seconds and place in the dishwasher for a hot cycle.
Symptoms of Foodborne Illness
If someone eats contaminated food, they may experience a host of symptoms, called food poisoning. The most reliable indicator of foodborne infection is diarrhea, which may last for one to seven days. Additional symptoms are abdominal cramps, fever, dehydration, fatigue and vomiting.
After consumption of contaminated food, it can take as little as 30 minutes for certain symptoms such as nausea, stomach cramps and diarrhea to arise. However, some viruses can take several days after contact to become apparent. If any symptoms last for more than days, contact your doctor for medical attention. For additional concerns about serious side effects of foodborne illness, please read the article posted by the CDC.
People with more severe reactions after eating contaminated food
Some people are at a higher risk of foodborne infection due to weaker, less-developed or shared immune systems. Their bodies are more prone to illness and have less strength to internally fight off disease. Typical higher risk groups include:
- Adults 65 and older
- Children 5 and younger
- Pregnant women
- People with compromised immune systems
Top Sanitizers to Improve Food Safety
Our sanitizing wipes and sprays Alpet D2 eliminate tough and stubborn germs on food contact surfaces in homes and food manufacturing facilities.
Sanitizing sprays
Alpet D2 sprays are highly evaporative, which means you can use them on water-sensitive surfaces. We recommend washing each cutting board, surface area and utensil to remove debris. Then, simply spray your cutting board or counter and walk away knowing you have killed any harmful pathogens. In just 60 seconds, the surface is sanitized! You can have peace of mind knowing that your family is safe from germs.
Alpet D2 Surface Sanitizer is one of the most popular sanitizers in the industry and perfect for protecting your home.
- 60 second kill time on food contact surfaces
- Kills 99.999% of tested pathogens like Salmonella
- Clean, sanitize and disinfect surfaces with one product
Shop Alpet D2 Sanitizing Sprays
Sanitizing wipes
Alpet D2 Surface Sanitizing Wipes provide powerful, bacteria-killing results that will keep your home and kitchen safe from pathogens. These disinfecting wipes clean and sanitize high touch surfaces including the sticky residues on your kitchen counters. The 90-count wipe canister features heavy-duty wipes, which are ideal for commercial use. For your home, we recommend the 160-count wipe canister of medium-duty wipes.
Alpet D2 disinfecting wipes kill 99.999% of Salmonella enterica and other pathogens within 60 seconds after contact. Alpet D2 is safe to use on food contact surfaces, equipment, utensils and more surfaces to create a food safe environment in your home.
- Kill 99.999% of bacteria in 60 seconds
- Kill 99.9% of tested pathogens in 10 seconds
- Pre-moistened wipes
Shop Alpet D2 Sanitizing Wipes
How to Properly Sanitize your Kitchen Surfaces
Maintaining a clean and sanitized kitchen is crucial for preventing the spread of germs and sustaining good hygiene, especially while cooking.
Begin by cleaning all the surfaces in the kitchen including the sink, counters, cutting board and utensils. Use a bleach solution or surface sanitizer to wipe down the surfaces and let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes before wiping down with paper towels. Dispose of garbage and scrap food debris into the trash can. Before putting plates and silverware in the dishwasher, run them through warm water under the faucet to remove extra food. Hand wash large dishware or dishes that are not dishwasher safe in the sink. Turn the faucet to warm water and test to make sure it is at the right temperature for handwashing with soap. Let the utensils and equipment air dry on a drying mat or rack. Once surfaces are clean, wash your hands.
