7 Mistakes Even Safe Cooks Make

7 Mistakes Even Safe Cooks Make

Most people worry about food poisoning--except when they\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'re doing the cooking. But here\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s a shocker: Nearly 25% of victims of foodborne illness get it from a home-cooked meal, according to the CDC. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Research proves that people are not as careful handling food as they need to be,\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" says Janet B. Anderson, RD, a clinical professor of nutrition and food sciences at Utah State University. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Many of them believe they\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'re doing a good job, but when we actually study their behavior, they\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'re not.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"

Find out where you might be tripping up--and how easily you can make food safety changes in your own kitchen.

You wash your hands before cooking

Yes, it\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s a good first step--but research shows you need to wash several times while cooking to stay safe. Try to wash up every time you switch to a new component of the meal--say, when moving from meat to veggies to spices. Most \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"violations\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" occur when you go back and forth between meat (or poultry, egg, or seafood) and ready-to-eat foods such as salad fixings without washing hands in between, suggests a recent food-safety study led by Anderson.

Stay extra safe: Don\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t wash up on autopilot. Count to 20 while rubbing hands under water. And use soap--rinsing alone won\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t get rid of bacteria.

You wash produce as soon as you get home from the market

It\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s nice to have fresh herbs and veggies cleaned and ready for you to begin cooking. But if you wash produce before you stash it in the fridge, mold and other microbes can grow in moisture left behind, says Linda J. Harris, PhD, associate director of research at the Western Institute for Food Safety and Security at the University of California, Davis. Instead, clean produce right before you prepare it.

Stay extra safe: Discard the outer layer of lettuce and cabbage, where contamination is most likely to occur. Then rinse the rest of the head (skip the soap--it could leave a residue, which you don\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t want to eat).

You rinse only fruit with edible skin

Surprise: Fruits with inedible peels or rinds, such as bananas and melons, can be as risky as those you eat whole--because bacteria on the surface can be transported inside by a knife when you slice through it. Rinse while using a scrub brush to remove dirt, debris, and germs; toss the brush into the dishwasher afterward.

Stay extra safe: Cut stems from tomatoes, strawberries, and peppers after washing so bacteria can\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t seep inside.

You clean as you cook

Good move. Unless you\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'re too free with your dish towel--chopping a potato, wiping the cutting board, then using the towel to clean your serving bowls, too, where it could spread germs that can make you sick. Use dish towels only to dry clean hands, and rely on paper towels and an antimicrobial disinfectant to wipe down countertops and cutting boards.

Stay extra safe: You\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'d never put raw meat, which can be loaded with bacteria, directly on the counter. So don\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t set unwashed produce down there, either--put it on a dish or cutting board you can wash later.

You leave meals warming on the stove top or in the oven

Bacteria can thrive when food is anywhere from 41°F to 135° F--a surprisingly large range. So setting aside a meal--say, in a still-warm oven or on the stove top--for a family member to eat later may allow it to spoil. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Even foods that seem harmless, like rice or pasta, could become dangerous,\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" warns Mary Weaver, technical manager of retail food safety for NSF International, a nonprofit public health organization in Ann Arbor, MI. And don\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t think reheating a dish that\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s been sitting out will make it safe: Some toxins that can form when food is left out too long are resistant to heat. A good rule of thumb: If your loved one will be more than 2 hours late, stick the dish in the fridge until it\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s ready to be warmed up.

Stay extra safe: Store hot leftovers in small, shallow containers; that allows food to cool more quickly. Don\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t stack too many containers together--a tightly packed refrigerator doesn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t cool as efficiently, allowing bacteria to grow.

You set your fridge temp to \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"cold\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"

You\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'d think that would be cool enough to slow the growth of bacteria. But because built-in control dials don\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t tell you what the actual temperature is, you can\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t be sure you\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'re keeping food between 35°F and 40°F, which is where it needs to be to do the job, says Patricia Kendall, PhD, RD, a professor of food science and nutrition at Colorado State University. To compensate, buy a thermometer that attaches to the inside wall or sits on a shelf (try OXO Good Grips Refrigerator/Freezer Thermometer; $13, amazon.com) and check it once a month.

Stay extra safe: Buy a thermometer for the freezer, too--it should read 0°F, the temp at which food freezes solid.

You cook burgers until the pink is gone

Think that if a burger looks well-done, it must be germ free? Kansas State University research shows the eyeball method doesn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t work--a meat thermometer is the only way to tell if it\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s been cooked to a safe 160°F. Thawed meat can turn a little brown, so it might look done before it really is, while some lean burgers might still look pink when they hit 160°F. To check a burger\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s doneness, insert the thermometer into the center of the meat, and chow down only if the reading is 160°F or higher.

Stay extra safe: If the burger\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s not hot enough and you have to cook it longer, be sure to wash the thermometer before you test the meat again to avoid cross contamination.

Did you know? Produce is responsible for almost twice as many cases of food poisoning as poultry and almost three times as many as beef, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

自家厨房煮出来的不一定就是安全卫生的

厨房里容易犯错的7个地方

除了自己亲手烹饪的食物以外，大部分的人都会为其他食物的卫生情况感到担忧。但是，令人震惊的是，根据CDC的报告：因为食物不洁而引起疾病的患者中有接近25％是由于吃了家里煮的饭菜而引起不适的。犹他州立大学的一名临床营养学教授以及食品科学家Janet B.Anderson,RD说：“研究证明，人们并没有规范地处理食物。许多人认为他们做法不存在安全上的问题，但是事实上，当我们仔细观察他们煮饭时的行为习惯时，我们发现他们的做法存在很多安全隐患。

煮饭前洗手

确实，煮饭前洗手时一个好的开始步骤，但是研究表明，为了保证饭菜的安全卫生，你需要洗不止一次的手。当你开始处理一种新的食材。比方说处理完肉类以后处理蔬菜前或者是加调味品之前，请记得洗手。当你没有洗手就交叉处理生猪肉（或者禽肉、鸡蛋、海鲜等）以及沙拉等即食食品时，大多数的污染因此而发生了。

你还需要这样做：

不要只是把手放在自来水下面冲洗，洗手的时候要在水里一边仔细搓手一边数到20下。还有，记得用肥皂洗手，这是因为单单用清水并不能有效的清除病菌。

从市场回来之后马上清洗食材

在开始煮饭前把新鲜的瓜果蔬菜清洗干净是一件无可厚非的事情。但是，位于戴维斯的美国加州大学的研究食品安全与卫生的学术带头人之一的Linda J.Harris,PhD说：“如果你将食材洗干净之后就把它们放进冰箱里贮藏起来，霉菌以及其它微生物会因为残留的水分而开始孳生。”相反地，你应该选择适当地时机清洗需要用到的食材。

你还需要这样做：

请把莴苣、卷心菜的外层丢掉，因为那里既有可能已经被污染了。还有，记得把蔬菜头部的其他部位洗干净－－打上肥皂，因为泡沫能把你不想吃的脏东西带走。

只清洗水果可以食用的部位

令人惊奇的是，具有不可食的果皮或果壳的水果，比如香蕉或甜瓜等，其实跟可以整果食用的水果一样具有致病的可能性。这是因为当你剥皮或削皮的时候，表面的细菌可能会随着刀片一起进入果肉。当你用刷子刷去污物、细菌之后，请把刷子放进洗碗机里清洗干净。

你还需要这样做：

清洗西红柿、草莓和辣椒等带有蒂茎的水果之后把它们的茎部切掉，这样细菌才不会污染到里面的果肉。

煮饭的时候保持“洁净”

这是一个好的步骤。不过，如果你随便使用你的抹布，比方说，切土豆或者擦砧板后又拿来洗碗，这样将传播大量会引起你不适的细菌。抹手的抹布应该只用来抹手，你可以用沾上消毒剂的纸抹布来拭擦容器的底部以及砧板。

你还需要这样做：

既然你从来不会把表面附着着许多细菌的生肉直接放在操作台上面，那么，你也不应该把还未清洗的食材放在操作台上面。你可以把还未清洗的食材先放在砧板或盘子的上面。

把饭菜放在火炉上或者烤箱里保温

当食物处于41℉和135℉之间的时候（这其实是一个不安全的温度范围），食物里的微生物将开始生长。很多人为了让家人等一下可以马上食用而把肉放在余温尚存的火炉或者烤箱里，这反而使肉更加容易变质。国际组织NSF（一个位于Ann Arbor，MI的大众健康公益机构）里研究食品安全性部门的技术总监警告说：“即使像大米、面食等看起来不易受到污染的食品也存在一定的危险。”不要以为把冷却了的饭菜重新加热就可以降低不安全性，某些由于食物长久放置在外界而产生的毒素的耐热性使很强的。正确的做法应该是：如果你想把一道你喜欢的菜放到多于2个小时以后再食用，一定要把它存放在冰箱里面，需要食用的时候再重新拿出来加热。

你还需要这样做：

请把吃剩的饭菜放在一个浅小的容器里，这样饭菜能够冷却得快点。还有，不要把太多得器皿堆放在一起，冰箱里如果塞满了的话会影响制冷的效果，细菌也会因此开始生长。

把冰箱的温度调为“寒冷”

你是不是认为把冰箱的温度调到“寒冷”便可以有效地抑制细菌的生长？但是，科罗拉多州立大学的一名食品科学与营养的教授说：“由于冰箱内显示温度控制范围的刻度表并不能告诉你冰箱里的确切温度，因此你不能确定你的冰箱处于35℉和40℉之间——食物有效保存的温度范围。为了弥补冰箱的这一缺陷，你应该买一个可以贴在冰箱内壁或可以放在冷架上的温度计，然后每个月定期检查一次冰箱里的温度。这里推荐使用OXO Good Grips的冰箱温度计，在亚马逊购物网上售价为13美元。”

你还需要这样做：

为冷冻室也买一个温度计，该温度计的读数范围能低至食物的结冰温度——0℉。

把肉片煎至其粉红色消失为止

你是不是认为如果肉片看起来完全煮熟了，细菌也肯定被杀死了。但是，砍萨斯州立大学的研究表明，只有肉类专用温度计才是唯一能检测肉类是否已经煮到安全温度——160℉，目测并不能准确的判断。冰鲜肉本身就略带褐色，所以，在它真正完全煮熟之前它可能看起来已经煮熟了。而某些品质优良的肉类即使已经被煮到160℉，它可能看起来还是粉红色的。所以，为了检测肉是否已经完全煮熟，我们可以在肉片中间插一支温度计，当温度达到160℉或以上时才熄火。

你还需要这样做：

如果由于温度不够高而导致你不得不延长烹煮的时间，当你把温度计重新插进肉中的之前请务必把温度计清洗干净，这样才不会引起交叉感染。你知道吗？根据公益科学中心的报告，由农产品引起食物中毒的案例的个数是禽鸟类的2倍，也是牛肉的3倍。