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Having visited numerous federally inspected meat processing plants, I can personally say that most of these facilities are far more sanitary than the average consumer kitchen.

Really, you ask? Is this possible? Well, yes. It is. And, it’s really pretty simple.

When was the last time, for instance, you steam cleaned your kitchen floor? How about the kitchen ceiling? How about the countertops? The cabinets? Both inside and out? How about the cabinet handles? Or, the outside of your refrigerator? Or, the walls behind and the floor underneath?

And, when was the last time you cleaned – and applied sanitizer – to the counter under the microwave? How about the underside of the microwave? Or the the cord and plug? Coffee maker? Fryer? Radio clock? Salt and pepper shakers?  How about the cat and the dog dish? Using plastic gloves, I hope.

And, when was the last time you completely emptied your refrigerator (or freezer), threw everything away, sanitized the surfaces with hot water (graced with robust chemicals), took microbiological samples, sent them  to an accredited lab, and then waited for the results to come back entirely negative before allowing any food to be replaced? And, what if we asked (or, forced) ourselves to do this every day? Although I may be wrong, I’m relatively certain most consumers would baulk at the idea.

Nevertheless, in meat processing establishments, a full shift each day is dedicated to cleaning and sanitizing the facility. All of the equipment (after disassembly), conveyor belts, walls, ceilings and floors are carefully showered with high-pressure steaming water, along with powerful sanitizers, designed to remove and kill any potential contaminants. And, once this eight hour shift is finished, and once all the equipment is reassembled, FSIS will not allow the facility to start making any food again until its inspectors conduct a thorough inspection and give their explicit approval. These inspectors, of course, remain in these facilities throughout the day.

On the other hand, we also know that most consumers spend little time thinking about the potential food safety dangers lurking in their kitchen. And even fewer take the time they really should to make sure everything is both sterile and clean.

Don’t get me wrong. This is not to say, of course, that consumers in all instances should be held to a higher standard than meat processors. I’m only saying that things should be kept in perspective. One way we can all work together to lower the incidence of food-borne illness is by bringing the cleanliness of our own kitchens to the same standard as many of the companies that supply our food.

In this regard, the following article authored by Jenilee Matz, M.P.H., a Staff Writer for www.myOptumHealth.com provides some great pointers:

Think your kitchen is squeaky-clean? Sure, it may appear spotless. But just because you don't see any crumbs does not mean your kitchen is sterile. Billions of tiny germs may have made themselves at home in your kitchen sink, on your counter tops, stove and everywhere else.

Germs live on every surface of your kitchen - from the buttons on the stove to your sink sponge to the coffee pot. But not all germs are bad. Good ones work hard in the digestive tract to keep us healthy. But others, like viruses that cause the flu and bacteria that cause food-borne illness, can make you really sick.

Washing your hands and wiping down counter tops are good first steps, but there's more you can do. Here are 10 tips for a germ-free kitchen:

1. Wash your hands properly. Use warm, soapy water and rub hands together for at least 20 seconds. Thoroughly scrub hands, wrists, fingernails and in between fingers. Rinse and dry hands with a paper towel and use the paper towel to turn off the faucet. Wash your hands:
   • Before and after handling food or eating;
   • After using the bathroom;
   • After changing diapers;
   • After handling animals and animal waste;
   • After touching something dirty (for example, after taking out the trash or using a tissue);
   • Before and after caring for a sick person;
   • Whenever they look [or feel] dirty.
2. Use paper towels to clean kitchen surfaces. Make sure to use them for one task only. Wiping down one surface and then cleaning another with the same towel can spread bacteria. If you use non-disposable cleaning cloths, clean them in the washing machine often. If you use sponges, microwave them each day for 30 seconds or wash them in the dishwasher. Germs grow when materials are moist.
3. Scrub your sink when cooking, especially if you are using it for different jobs while making your meal - like thawing chicken, preparing veggies and washing utensils.
4. Use hot, soapy water to clean your pots, cutting boards, dishes, utensils and counter tops before and after preparing food.
5. Sanitize all kitchen surfaces [at least] once each week for added protection against bacteria. Don't forget about door and cupboard handles, faucets and trash cans. Use a kitchen disinfectant or a diluted bleach solution (mix 1 teaspoon of bleach with 1 quart of water). The bleach solution needs to sit on the surface for about 10 minutes to be effective. Dry the surface with clean paper towels.
6. Clean your can opener regularly. This is an excellent place for germs to hide and grow. Wash it with hot, soapy water.
7. Disinfect the kitchen sink drain and disposal [at least] once or twice a week. Do so by pouring a diluted bleach solution (mix 1 teaspoon of bleach with 1 quart of water) down the drain. Bacteria can grow on food that gets stuck in the drain and disposal.
8. Clean the inside of your microwave and refrigerator once each week. Wipe up spills right away and clean surfaces with hot, soapy water. Once a week, go through your fridge and throw out expired foods.
9. Replace wooden items often. Wooden utensils and cutting boards can develop cracks where bacteria can hide.
10. Be extra diligent about cleaning when someone in your home is sick to stop germs from spreading. Wash your hands and surfaces more often.

In any event, following these simple steps can greatly reduce the risk and potential of contracting a food-borne illness. And although most consumers would likely feel that cleaning their kitchen for at least 8 hours each day may be a bit too much, we are hopeful some would agree that at least once a week is enough.

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It's no secret that virtually all foods are safe if handled properly.

Indeed, according to FDA, most food-borne illnesses are avoidable if consumers follow proper food handling techniques. This is true whether consumers are shopping for products, transporting them home or preparing them in their kitchen.

While proper handling and cooking is key, food safety starts at the grocery store. By following safe food handling practices while shopping, consumers can significantly reduce the potential for food-borne illness at home. In this Consumer Update video, FDA Consumer Safety Officer Doriliz De León guides consumers through a local grocery store while explaining how they can – and should – do their part to keep both their foods and families safe.

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Travelling throughout the United States and Internationally this week to speak at various food safety conferences (and mingling endlessly with numerous regulators and industry professionals), I continue to hear a common theme.

When it comes to the safety of our food here at home, it is intellectually healthier, if you will, to stand behind the teachings of science, than to be force-fed the frenzied rhetoric of cynics to whom things like perspective and reason are but tasteless, bland and easily ignored concepts.

Each year, American families eat somewhere in the neighborhood of 328.5 Billion safe meals – and countless more safe snacks. While any illness or death linked to the consumption of food is one too many, the fact remains that (at three meals a day) you and I are 20 times more likely to die this year from pneumonia or drowning than from a food-borne illness. Although not perfect, the statistics are quite impressive.

Mostly, the risk of eating is low because the hard-working people who actually grow, raise, manufacture, transport, process, prepare and serve our food – despite what you might be told by the media – are actually well-intentioned human beings. With incredible assistance and cooperation from numerous federal, state and local agencies, these hard-working individuals help make our food supply one of the safest in the world.

Included, of course, in this cast of thousands, are dedicated professions who work for numerous federal, state and local agencies such as the CDC, the FDA, the USDA, the FSIS, 50 individual State health departments, and countless local health departments. These individuals, in many instances volunteer extended hours at wages far below their true worth, working tirelessly to ensure that the food sustaining our nation is as plentiful and safe as it can be.

Yet, despite these incredible human efforts, both the food industry and government workers that oversee and track the safety of our food remain under continuous attack. As consumers, we are inundated by media “fear-mongering,” and made to believe that with each meal consumed, we draw closer to the precipice of some fathomless tragedy. We are also taught to be suspicious and wary of the people who have dedicated their lives to ensuring that our families are fed, and that our food is wholesome.

We are told of the ineffectiveness of federal, state and local regulators, alleged problems in food processing plants, restaurants and grocery stores, and how industry workers simply don’t care about the food they make. In order to believe this, however, we must ignore a fundamental truth: the food that our fellow Americans work so hard to produce is the same food they proudly feed to their families.

You see, food safety is a complicated and dynamic issue. It is easy to be a cynic. It is easy to attack others with the benefit of extended hindsight. It is easy to simplify things to a level that a third grader would find devoid in both substance and fact. The real challenge, however, lies in embracing a reasoned and proactive approach that not only recognizes the limits of technology and science, but, at the same time, within these limits, best reduces the risks most likely to occur to the greatest extent possible.

And, we must recognize, as well, that there are many sources of food-borne illness other than food products. More common than problems which occur at the highly regulated production level, are those which occur at the consumer level.

• How many offending foods, for instance, were perfectly safe until rendered unsafe by improper storage or handling?

• How many offending meals were perfectly safe until contaminated by ill food handlers?

• How many buffets at restaurants, churches, family gatherings or weddings were completely safe until contaminated by sick guests?

When we probe deeper, and actually balance the real and multiple causes of food-borne illness (most of which occur long after production), the safety of the food produced by industry is astonishing. And, frankly, until we recognize that each one of us shares responsibility for basic food safety in our homes, and until every food-handler, homemaker and guest can be rendered “sterile,” we also need to ensure that the laws regulating our food supply are driven by (and based upon) reality and science, not merely inflammatory rhetoric.

Nevertheless, many will continue to indiscriminately criticize our entire food system and, by extension, the countless people working to find solutions to the challenges we do face. And, although the same critics will also argue that consumers bear little responsibility for their own safety, please understand this is a dangerous and flawed philosophy which serves no one but those who profit from the sensationalism and mistrust they create.

In any event, for those who continue to ignore science and reason, who contend that food safety is the responsibility of food producers alone, and who wrongly proclaim that food safety is only as simple as “not eating poop,” I say this: given the statistics, what goes into one mouth is often far less harmful than what comes out of another.

*And, if you have any questions related to proper food handling, please feel free to peruse our site for safe handling instructions and tips; and, please encourage others to do the same.

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