Food scientists who conducted a large collaborative study of consumer behaviour have been surprised by results relating to cross-contaminating kitchen surfaces with pathogens. This is not so much with the potential for pathogens, but rather with the source of microbes of concern – spice containers.
The North Carolina State University research finds that when consumers are preparing meals, spice containers can easily become cross-contaminated. The contamination includes some health-threatening microorganisms.
According to lead researcher Professor Donald Schaffner: “In addition to more obvious surfaces like cutting boards, garbage can lids and refrigerator handles, here’s something else that you need to pay attention to when you’re trying to be clean and sanitary in your kitchen… Our research shows that any spice container you touch when you’re preparing raw meat might get cross-contaminated. You’ll want to be conscious of that during or after meal preparation.”
The types of foodborne illnesses of concern include non-typhoidal Salmonella bacteria and Campylobacter species. The point of origin includes foods like chicken, turkey, beef, pork, and game. The risks need to be addressed by improve food production.
Within the home, people can seek to mitigate the risks through adequate cooking, consistent handwashing and disinfection of kitchen surfaces and utensils. Each step can contribute to reducing the likelihood of cross-contamination.
The research focused on 371 adults who were asked to prepare and cook an identical turkey burger recipe in several kitchens of various sizes. Each participant prepared a meal consisting of raw ground turkey patties with a seasoning recipe, along with a pre-packaged salad. To simulate the movement of a pathogen across a kitchen, researchers inoculated the meat ahead of time with the bacteriophage MS2 (a single-stranded RNA virus that infects the bacterium Escherichia coli). This served as a safe tracer.
The subjects were unaware they were being assessed for food safety practices. Once the meal had been prepared, researchers swabbed kitchen utensils, cleaning areas and kitchen surfaces to test for the presence of the MS2 tracer.
The researchers found the most frequently contaminated objects were spice containers, with about 48 percent of the samples showing evidence of MS2 contamination. Cutting boards and trash can lids were the second and third most contaminated. This presents a different and rarely considered contamination vector within the kitchen.
Further risk assessment activities are required to promote further understanding of the significance of cross-contamination frequency and efficiency.
The research appears in the Journal of Food Protection, titled “Cross-Contamination to Surfaces in Consumer Kitchens Using MS2 as a Tracer Organism in Ground Turkey Patties.”
