Do you think this chicken is still good??

[slackjaw]

Originally Posted by suzy_q2010

See here:

Bacterial Food Poisoning

This is interesting, because from this link the heavy hitters of food poisoning associated with meat (salmonella, campy, e. coli) all seem to list improper cooking and recontamination after cooking, as opposed to post-cooking temperature.

They do have one (Clostridium perfringens) that seems to come from improper temperature control.

[elnina]

If we take it to extreme then we have to admit that utensils and china stored in cabinets are contaminated, hands washed 10 min in hot water and scrubbed with antibacterial soap are contaminated a second after you wash them, not to mention if you touch your clothes or God forbid your hair while cooking. What about cabinet knobs and pulls - are they disinfected daily?? Or bottles and cans from the store, are they disinfected before opening??
Do you think that restaurant kitchens are sterile? What about potluck? Would you eat food other people cooked?

[suzy_q2010]

Originally Posted by elnina

If we take it to extreme then we have to admit that utensils and china stored in cabinets are contaminated, hands washed 10 min in hot water and scrubbed with antibacterial soap are contaminated a second after you wash them, not to mention if you touch your clothes or God forbid your hair while cooking. What about cabinet knobs and pulls - are they disinfected daily?? Or bottles and cans from the store, are they disinfected before opening??
Do you think that restaurant kitchens are sterile? What about potluck? Would you eat food other people cooked?

Yes, all of the things that you describe have bacteria on them. Fortunately, the number of bacteria on the dishes and utensils will be small, and although bacteria can live on hard surfaces, they really thrive in food, even cooked food.

Even an operating room is not really sterile. The cleaning procedures used are designed to reduce the numbers of bacteria to as low a number as possible, and the people in the OR cover their hair and their mouths and noses. The people who are actually doing the surgery wash their hands with a disinfectant, cover their hands with gloves and their clothes with sterile gowns. All those drapes you see are to keep the number of bacteria coming into contact with the site of the surgery to a bare minimum. All the supplies used are sterilized. The patient's skin cannot be sterilized, but it can be temporarily disinfected. And antibiotics are frequently given before certain procedures which are known to be at high risk for infections.

It is not necessary to treat your kitchen like an operating room, but disinfecting counters and sinks regularly is a sound practice. I do not touch door knobs and drawer pulls without washing my hands first. Simple handwashing with plain soap before handling food reduces the number of skin bacteria.

No, restaurant kitchens are not sterile, but they should be clean.

Yes, I do eat food that other people cook. Potluck dishes need to be kept properly heated or properly cooled. Leftovers need to be refrigerated promptly.

Improperly handled cooked food can make people sick.