Judy E. Buss

The kitchen, where you prepare delicious and nourishing meals, can also be a dangerous place. Following a few basic rules is crucial to the health and safety of anyone cooking in or eating from that kitchen: Food contamination, sharp utensils, drippings on the floor, and hot pots, have the potential to cause food poisoning or injury. Here are some simple ways to prevent disasters which could result in PTCS “Post Traumatic Cooking Syndrome…”

* Roll up your sleeves before you begin to cook to prevent them from getting into one food (such as raw meat) and contaminating another. Long, loose-fitting sleeves can also snag and knock over a pan filled with steaming hot food and spill its content on you or on the floor. Position pot handles sideways or pointed toward the back while pots are on the stove. A handle extending beyond the stove’s front edge, could lead to a serious accident if someone bumps into it. Hot oil or boiling food can come crashing down causing skin burns, floor damage, or blanching your cat sleeping on the floor.

* The blades of all your work-knives must be individually placed in a knife guard to protect your fingers when you reach into a drawer for a utensil, and to prevent damage to the blade. A knife that knocks against other utensils in a drawer will lose its sharpness. Storing your work-knives in a knife-block on the counter is not recommended since there’s no way to clean inside its slots.

* Any food spills on counters, stove-tops, or floors should immediately be cleaned and dried. Doing otherwise could result in unscheduled ER “events.”

*At least once a week disinfect your sponges, counter-wiping rags,  and veggie scrubbing brush for 10 minutes in a large bowl of water mixed with a couple of tablespoons of bleach. This is of utmost importance, as these items tend to harbor tons of bacteria. After 10 minutes, drain the bleach solution carefully to avoid splashing, then rinse the soaked items under a gentle stream of running water.

*Raw seafood, meat, and eggs are potentially dangerous and can easily cross-contaminate other ingredients if proper precautions are not observed. After handling these foods, always wash your hands, faucet handles, utensils used, and surfaces with soap and water before touching anything else. You can minimize this issue by planning your moves, including turning the faucet on and off with the back of your hand if possible. Placing these food items on plates, rather than directly on the counter also saves work.

* Promptly store all fish and meat in the freezer when returning home from  food shopping, except ones you’ll be using in the next couple of days; those should be stored in the refrigerator.  Plan ahead and thaw frozen foods, especially fish and meat, in the refrigerator a day or two before cooking them. Eggs must be kept in the fridge and cooked completely before they are consumed.

*Wash all vegetables and fruits to remove dirt, bacteria, oil-based pesticides, and wax, prior to using them. The only exceptions are garlic, yellow, sweet, and red onions. Even if the store label states that a vegetable was prewashed, rinse it anyway. Clean vegetables and fruit even if you will be peeling them. Bacteria and toxic residue become transferred to the produce during peeling.

For leafy and irregularly-shaped vegetables such as lettuce, kale, mustard greens, as well as green beans and other pods, small fruit and veggies, fill a large bowl with water and two drops of liquid soap. Mix well to form light suds. Add the vegetables, and immediately and gently swirl them around and lightly rub them with your fingers. Do not leave them in the soapy water for more than a couple of minutes to prevent them from absorbing the soap. Transfer the washed veggies to a colander and rinse well by continually reshuffling them under a gentle stream of cold water.

 To clean larger, smooth-skinned produce,such as tomatoes, oranges, apples, cucumbers, or eggplant, briefly rinse them to loosen the dirt, and then use a small soapy brush to scrub each individual item. Then rinse well under cold running water and dry with a paper towel. Health is wealth!

“Mission Nutrition” Tips and Recipes from Judy E. Buss, Syndicated Eating-for-Health Columnist

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