Kitchen is a very specific place in the house. On the one hand, we clean our kitchens more often than any other room. On the other hand, there are still many sources of possible contamination. Actually, the possibility of catching an infection, especially a bacterial one or swallow the eggs of some parasites in the kitchen are far more higher than in the bathroom.
In order to protect yourself and your family against such possibilities, check these widespread dangerous habits many people have when it comes to cooking. Even if you yourself never do anything like this, pay your attention to the way the members of your family are preparing food.
Tasting food in order to check whether it is still good for consumption
One of the things you should never do is tasting food to learn whether it still can be consumed. The problem with this sensory method of detection is that you can easily get any infection from the product you are testing. Even if you don’t any changes in the taste or smell of the food which has spent too much time in the fridge, it still doesn’t mean you should eat it.
Not all of the pathogenic bacteria change the taste of the food thus much that you will distinguish any modification by tasting it. This especially concerns eating meat if you have even the slightest doubts about its freshness. Meat is degraded by specific bacteria and mould which are producing rather dangerous toxins. Undoubtedly, you don’t want to consume them by any chance.
Putting other products on the dishes where raw meat used to be
Beyond a shadow of a doubt, you should cook in such a way as not to allow raw meat or any dishes where it was lying to contact with other food especially with the products which won’t be cooked afterwards.
There is a great number of risks related to consuming raw meat or fish. The most frequent of them are being infected by bacteria or parasites which are normally killed by heating the food. Even if you are very attentive while cooking meat or fish, you might still not be aware of letting these products to contact with other products.
For instance, if a piece of raw meat was lying on a plate, you should clean this plate before using it for further cooking. Actually, it is even better to use separate tableware for raw meat and fish and for other products.
Of course, you also should wash your hands anytime you are touching uncooked fish or meat. Furthermore, if you need to defrost a piece of meat, never do it directly on the table since the bacteria will spread quickly on the surface of the kitchen tables and can contaminate other products.
Using the marination liquid with cooked food
For the same reason, you should never add the marination liquid as a sauce to the food that has already been cooked. You can still use this liquid if only you boil it first.
It is also not recommended to marinate meat outside the fridge. Unfortunately, the room temperature is exactly the best condition for active proliferation of the pathogenic microorganisms.
Tasting raw dough
Not only is it crucial to limit any contact of raw meat and fish with other products, but you also shouldn’t let raw dough to touch other food and shouldn’t taste.
First of all, one of the major sources of food contamination in the dough are eggs which can have a great variety of pathogenic bacteria including salmonella. These bacteria are killed with heating the dough and can’t do any harm. Yet, raw dough can have these dangerous microorganisms, so you’d better not risk unnecessary.
Moreover, even if the dough you have prepared doesn’t have any eggs in it, you still shouldn’t eat it. Even the flour itself can have bacteria infecting the gut causing intoxication of your body.
Not cooking fish, eggs or meat for a sufficient time
Again, since the risks of contamination coming from raw fish, meat and eggs, it is necessary to make sure these products have been cooked for a sufficient amount of time before you even taste them. Sometimes, it is rather difficult to be absolutely sure whether the food is ready for consumption based exclusively on its appearance or smell. For that reason, a good idea is purchasing a special thermometer used for cooking.
Freezing products in order to get rid of bacteria and other pathogens
Some people believe that not only high temperature can help you to get rid of any microorganisms and parasites in products, but also low temperature has such an ability.
Of course, if you freeze an animal such as any mammal and then defrost it, the poor creature won’t live anymore. But it is totally different with microorganisms and even parasites. They perfectly endure low temperatures simply hibernating when it too cold for them to sustain their bodily functions. Whenever the temperature rises up to a necessary level, they come back to the active phase of life which always include even more active multiplying which makes the food even more contaminated.