Keeping Your Home Cooked Meals Safe

Many home cooks neglect some aspect of food safety; despite what they say they’re doing to prevent foodborne illness.

Although the majority of the 123 volunteers in a videotaped experiment received food safety recommendations, most made a mistake in the kitchen, such as cross-contaminating raw meat and ready-to-eat fruit. Hand washing was one of the biggest problems, according to the study. Although most participants washed their hands, they either didn’t wash long enough or they used only water. Then they dried their hands on the same kitchen towel, contaminating it several times during the day.

Even if you pride yourself on a clean kitchen, it can’t hurt to brush up on hygiene basics from time to time, say the experts.