Want to see food safety ...um, roulette?

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I use a board made from a solid block of unfinished hardwood which was given as a gift on my 21st birthday (I happen to know that it cost an arm and several legs but it's served me for nearly 50 years so it's probably just about earned its keep!!!). It's well scrubbed after use and stood on its end to air dry.

Wood is supposed to contain naturally occurring anti-bacterial properties and doesn't blunt your knives like glass, plastic and other synthetic ones do. I wouldn't trust the synthetic boards which are supposed to be anti-bug (sorry, can't remember the word I'm fishing for!) further than I could throw them. To be on the safe side I use one side of my board for meat, poultry, fish, etc., and the other for everything else. I also chop veg, etc., first and then the meat last, to be on the safe side.


My point wasn't about the cutting board material, but rather the fact I didn't see anyone wash it (or the knife) after the chicken was cut up. He could have easily prepared the veggies before the chicken, and there wouldn't have been an issue.
 
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That's not a fair statement. You may have worked in a few dirty ones but that's not enough to make that assessment..I know many that are very clean. My place always gets excellent inspections, I make sure of it..maybe you should spend a few bucks and eat at a good one..:rolleyes:

You mean a good one like this one?? OOOK :rolleyes:

 
Makes me glad my quests don't watch me cook.. ;)


5 SECOND RULE!!!! 5 SECOND RULE!!! :LOL:


Ross

I have slightly more relaxed rules when I am just cooking for myself than when I am cooking for other people, too. I still watch out for cross-contamination -- mise en place really helps with that. But, if I drop a stalk of celery on the floor, I'll pick it up, rinse it off and use it -- five second rule. ;)

If I owned a restaurant, anything that hit the floor would go to the trash.

CD
 
I can evwnvsee 10th century vikings saying, "Oh my Odin, Helga. That'sa pretty nasty, don't you think?"
 
Au, contraire, sir.

Vikings bathed regularly. Together.
When everything wasn't frozen.
They weren't afraid of life.
Mostly because everything was always frozen first.

Getting back on topic, you takes your chances when it comes to eating out. Don't be stupid; do some research with places you don't know; but mostly, don't sweat the small stuff.
 
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I take reasonable care about contamination when I cook, but I don't worry to much if everything is going to be cooked immediately after prepping. it's different if some of the ingredients are served raw or don't really get well cooked. The video showed him adding chopped scallions before the dish went into the oven, then again afterward, and the second batch was added after plating so any earlier contamination is still ready to attack.

Also the towel he used has to be totally disgusting, with chicken juices spread from hand to towel, from towel to pan handle and anything else he uses that towel on.

All of this is really never an issue when I cook because I always have one half of the sink filled with hot soapy water and I wash my hands and my utensils as I go, keeping the chances of contamination as small as possible.
 
All of this is really never an issue when I cook because I always have one half of the sink filled with hot soapy water and I wash my hands and my utensils as I go, keeping the chances of contamination as small as possible.
I do this too. Remember though, good hot water, 100 degrees F is a great temperature to grow bacteria and there is no way around it besides changing the water often. (I read an article lately that said hand washing dishes should have water at 170 deg F--which isn't going to happen at my house. My water heater is set to 120 deg F.)



Making cheese is controlled method of growing bacteria. Everything including the sinks and utensils and pots get sanitized. Bacteria can be introduced in many ways because this is also 100 degrees F liquid.



For instance, everything is sanitized and then it is time to put in the milk. It comes in plastic jugs with water condensing on the outside, which means if any liquid comes from outside the jugs, that introduces the bacteria from my hands, the hands of the jug handlers at the grocery store, the hands of the cashier checking out groceries, the dirt on the cases of milk, the dirt on the shelving in the stores. Being totally aware is a little exhausting but with mostly good results.


What can be introduced to food that can affect it? Bacteria/cultures, molds, fungus, and yeasts.


Here's what a mishap looks like. I had planned to add cooled BOILED water to some colby to wash the curd. The jugs of boiled water were frozen so I had to use store bought spring water. These were sealed new jugs of water, not boiled.


wearlyblowingcolby.jpg



The holes shouldn't have been there. It was either ecoli or yeast introduced into the cheese. It has a term, 'early blowing'. We had to throw it out to be safe.


Cheese making is more likely to have safety issues than most food but it's a good reminder to try to be safe in every way with the food you eat and that you serve to your families.
 
Current official food safety advice is NOT to wash/rinse poultry before cooking because it can spread contamination in the kitchen. Cooking the bird properly is supposedly sufficient to kill nasties.

More important is to thaw a frozen bird completely before starting to cook it (despite the instructions in the booklet that came with my table top halogen oven!).
We, absolutely understand that.. This was in 1984.. :)
Ross
 
I do this too. Remember though, good hot water, 100 degrees F is a great temperature to grow bacteria and there is no way around it besides changing the water often. (I read an article lately that said hand washing dishes should have water at 170 deg F--which isn't going to happen at my house. My water heater is set to 120 deg F.)

The detergent in dishwater is itself antibiotic, so I don't worry too much about it being a culture medium. I don't leave it all day, generally only for an hour or two at most to keep ahead of the mess when I'm cooking. I usually fill the sink with straight hot tap water, too hot to put your hands in for more than a couple of seconds. By the time it cools to lukewarm, it needs to be replaced, simply because it won't properly emulsify grease any more at that point.
 
The detergent in dishwater is itself antibiotic, so I don't worry too much about it being a culture medium. I don't leave it all day, generally only for an hour or two at most to keep ahead of the mess when I'm cooking. I usually fill the sink with straight hot tap water, too hot to put your hands in for more than a couple of seconds. By the time it cools to lukewarm, it needs to be replaced, simply because it won't properly emulsify grease any more at that point.


Rick, I know you know better than to drop knives in that water. ;)
 
Rick, I know you know better than to drop knives in that water. ;)

If I finish with a knife, I wash, dry and put it back in the block. I never let go of a knife in a sink full of water... feeling around to try and find it again is the best way I know of to slice a finger.
 
I have a single tub sink so there's no supply of hot soapy water for me. I do clean as I go. I rinse an move things to the DW or the far side of the sink for later hand washing or DW loading. Knives are always hand washed.
 
I'm not ocd, but I am conscious of germs so I regularly wash my hands, our kitchen table is close in the kitchen, so my family are normally at the table when I'm cooking, so I'm aware I need to be clean and germ free. It's a bit like chicken, when you cook it. It has to be cooked right.

Russ
 
I'm not ocd, but I am conscious of germs so I regularly wash my hands, our kitchen table is close in the kitchen, so my family are normally at the table when I'm cooking, so I'm aware I need to be clean and germ free. It's a bit like chicken, when you cook it. It has to be cooked right.

Russ

I am OCD, but not about germs (my major thing is door locks). But, if you go back and look at the video in the OP, that guy seems to be tempting fate. It's like he is daring bacteria to make someone sick. And... he's putting it on YouTube for the whole world to see!!!

BTW, I don't know about any other dishwashers, but mine heats the water 40-degrees (F) over the incoming hot water. So if the incoming water is 120F, my dishes are getting washed in 160F water, for quite a long time, with detergent.

CD
 
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CD, I'm a bit like that with locks too. The guy in the video is asking for botulism.
My dishwasher is almost brand new so not sure on heat, but I use maximum wash times.

Russ
 
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