Tag Archives: bacteria

Fall Safety, General Safety Issues, Hand Protection, Home Safety Products

FIVE MOST COMMON KITCHEN HAZARDS (AND HOW TO AVOID THEM) (GUEST POST)

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The kitchen is, after the bathroom, the most dangerous room in the house—and with the average kitchen’s complement of knives, exposed heat sources, glassware, ceramics, and household poisons, perhaps that is unsurprising. Kitchen accidents cause millions of disabling injuries and tens of thousands of fatalities every year. Here are a few ways to make your kitchen safer, without overhauling your routine or spending a lot of money.

Falling – Slipping and falling incidents in the kitchen are common, and the presence of hazards on countertops can make the resulting injuries much more serious. A newly-cleaned floor or a fresh spill can make it easy to lose your footing, and sustain concussions and lacerations from the floor and countertops. The involuntary flailing associated with a fall can also spill hot liquids, shatter glassware, or bring the arms in contact with stovetops or knives.

To mitigate the risk of a falling injury, never cook on a wet floor, and clean spills thoroughly as soon as they happen. Turn the handle of any pots and pans over the stovetop, so they’re less likely to be knocked over in the event of a fall.

Knives – Lacerations from kitchen knives are so common that the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System actually subdivides them by the item being cut. A blade slip while cutting raw chicken is the most common form of kitchen laceration, followed by potatoes, apples, onions, and bagels. Those five categories alone account for over 15,000 emergency room visits every year, with patients experiencing extreme blood loss and potentially permanent nerve damage.

Cutting injuries are mostly the result of dull knives, badly-secured cutting boards, and improper knife technique. As much as possible, use sharp, high-quality blades, especially on slippery items like raw meat. Invest in a non-slip food cutting-board or slide a wet towel underneath the board to secure it. While cutting, keep your hands as dry as possible, firmly grip the knife, and always curl the fingers of your free hand.

Stovetops – Improper use of a stovetop (particularly a gas range) can result in fire, burns, and scalding. Loose sleeves, neckties, or long hair can ignite in contact with the burners, so it’s important to keep hair tied back and any loose-fitting clothing away from the range. Never leave a stovetop unattended, especially while using a glass casserole dish; they can explode violently from the heat, and spray shards of glass all over the kitchen. Also be sure to keep small children away from the range, and turn your pot handles over the stovetop so as to be out of reach.

Liquids on a stovetop can also be extremely dangerous, especially if they boil over or spill. It only takes a second of exposure to boiling water to inflict third-degree burns, and potentially permanent loss of the affected tissue. Don’t use a receptacle that is too small to accommodate the liquid, and never leave a boiling pot unattended.

 Bacteria – 128,000 Americans are hospitalized with foodborne illness every year. Not all of these incidents begin at home, but you can take steps to design a kitchen that will reduce your risk. Firstly, wash your hands and all cooking utensils before and after preparing food—and do not switch from preparing raw meat or seafood to preparing vegetables without washing. Never put cooked food right back on the plate where you prepared it raw—the blood and juices can easily reintroduce bacteria.

Take special care to sanitize your countertops and cutting boards, and be ready to replace them if they sustain deep gouges from knives—those crevices can be a haven for bacteria, and are difficult to clean properly. If you use rags and sponges, wash and (especially) dry them thoroughly—often they will do more to spread bacteria than to remove it. Also remember that refrigerators slow bacterial growth, but do not stop it. Leftovers can become dangerous to eat without any noticeable change in flavor or odor, so minimize the time your leftovers spend at room temperature, and eat them within (at most) one week of preparation.

Poisoning – Accidental poisoning is an extremely common cause of injury and death in the United States, among adults as well as children. The easiest way to avoid kitchen poisoning is to keep your cleaning and cooking separate, and make sure your cleaning supplies are well-secured under the sink if you have small children. To prevent food poisoning from canned or jarred goods, never eat food from a can that appears swollen, or releases pressurized gas when you open it. Respect the expiration dates on your packaged foods, and never leave an open can or jar at room temperature for more than an hour.

Mike Freiberg is a staff writer for http://www.homedaddys.com, a resource for stay-at-home dads, work-at-home dads, and everything in between. He’s a handyman, an amateur astronomer, and a tech junkie, who loves being home with his two kids. He lives in Austin.

Thank you, Mike, for this enlightening article.  Imagine the thousands of restaurant employees who are injured in the kitchen.  There are many types of personal protective wear such as cut-resistant gloves, and gloves for food handling.

General Safety Issues

Four Health Hazards in Your Kitchen

GUEST BLOG

Written by Console and Associates, P.C.

When one thinks about keeping their family safe in the kitchen, a few things come to mind, such as keeping children away from the stove and other burn hazards and properly preparing food to avoid food borne illnesses.  What many people fail to realize, or forget about, are the other, less-obvious dangers in your kitchen that could make your family ill.  Here are four hazards that are found in almost every kitchen:

  • Sponges.  The Problem: You use a sponge to clean dirty dishes and other kitchen tools, but often times we forget just how quickly our sponges become breeding grounds for bacteria.  Shine reported that in a study conducted that analyzed various household items, the kitchen sponge has 150 times more yeast, mold, and bacteria than they found when analyzing the bathroom toothbrush holder.  No one would think to disinfect the item they are using to disinfect other objects.  If a sponge becomes contaminated with E.coli or Salmonella, it could result in serious illness for one of your family members.
  • Quick Fix: Make sure you replace your sponge every two weeks.  In between replacements, you can disinfect your sponge by wetting it and sticking  it in the microwave for two minutes – this should be done daily.
  •  Refrigerators.  The Problem: How often do you check the temperature of your fridge? Most likely you do only on a rare occasion such as when the power has gone out.  The temperature of your fridge is extremely important because bacteria growth is slowed in cooler temperatures.  Your fridge should never be above 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Quick Fix: If your fridge did not come equipped with a thermometer you can easily (and cheaply) purchase one at many major retailers.  Be sure to keep an eye on the temperature to help reduce bacteria growth.
  • Cutting Boards.  The Problem: Certain cutting boards are more apt to hold bacteria than others.  For example, while wooden cutting boards may look nice on your countertop, but wood is porous and bacteria can get into it and thrive.  There is also a risk of injury if you are using a glass cutting board.  One,  it is not kind to your knives, and will likely ruin them, but more importantly they break easily, which poses a risk for cuts and lacerations.  Another cutting board risk is contaminating your food based on what you are cooking.  If you are preparing uncooked meat, fish or poultry you should not use the same cutting board for produce.  If you do you could run the risk of transmitting harmful bacteria.
  • Quick Fix: Buy plastic or acrylic cutting boards.  They are easy to clean, durable, and will not hold bacteria.  Also make sure you use separate cutting boards for your produce and meats.  You may have more dishes, but it’s better than ingesting Salmonella.  When you clean the boards, they should be washed in hot, soapy water, and air dried.  If you need them to dry faster, always use paper towels and not a dish towel (think of all the things you used that towel for, it is crawling with bacteria).  Acrylic and plastic boards can be run through the dishwasher.  Culinary experts also suggest sanitizing your board with a chlorine bleach-water solution (1 tablespoon bleach per 1 gallon of water); soak or spray the solution on the board, let it sit, and let it air dry.
  • Recalled Items.  The Problem: Perhaps it is stating the obvious, but when a food product or kitchen tool/appliance is recalled there is a significant threat to your health and well-being.  That being said, any and all recalled items should be disposed of immediately.  A study conducted by Rutgers University found that only 60 per cent of Americans will search their kitchens when a product is recalled.  While that is a large number of people, it should be 100 per cent.
  • Quick Fix: Stay up to date on any and all recalls (food and kitchen related or otherwise) by visiting www.recalls.gov.

There is no hard-and fast rule that will give you a 100 per cent guarantee that you will prevent foodborne illnesses in your home, but these safety tips will greatly reduce the chances.   The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that each year roughly 76,000,000 people in the country are made ill from food.  There are, of course, common knowledge ways to avoid this, such as washing your hands, and using clean kitchen tools when preparing food, but there are many surprising ways that food borne illnesses can make their way to your family.  If you or someone you love has been injured or made ill as the result of a kitchen accident or food borne illness, you may be entitled to compensation, speak with a qualified injury attorney in New Jersey today to find out your legal rights and options.

Thanks  to our friends at Console and Associates, P.C. for this interesting article on easy ways to spot and fix problems with germs that are found in kitchens.  With a little inspection and proper cleaning, we can hopefully stay healthy.

First Aid Safety, General Safety Issues, Hand Protection, Health Issues

LET’S “CLEAN UP” OUR ACT!

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There are “good germs” and “bad germs,” and many of those little critters can make us sick.  Our homes and offices all have bacteria, so let’s talk a little bit about how to clean up some of the stuff that harbors them.  One of the germiest items in your home is the remote control.  You should use a disinfectant swipe on it at least every two days, or if someone in your house is sick, every day.  Wait to do your channel surfing after you have prepared dinner because during food prep, you can transfer microbes like E.coli or salmonella to your clicker. 

We women love purses, so much so that they go everywhere we go.  That purse can pick up staph, salmonella, and even E.coli.  Don’t keep loose cash in your bag.  Paper money is the dirtiest thing there is.  Experts say that the flu virus can live on paper money for seventeen days.  Clean the inside of your purse with a vacuum crevice attachment, or a long bristled suede brush and dump crumbs into the trash.  Another good idea is to hang your purse up rather than placing it on restaurant or bathroom floors, where germs are just waiting to catch a ride.

Here is a list of some of the germiest places in our lives: 

  1. Phones.  Cell phones carry 500 times more bacteria than a toilet seat, according to Kelly Reynolds, PhD., an environmental microbiologist at the University of Arizona.  Many disease-causing microbes can survive for weeks on your rarely cleaned office or cell phone.  Swipe with a disinfecting wipe daily.
  2. Soap dispensers.  Ironically, this germ-fighting tool is a hot spot for E.coli and other bacteria.  Lathering your hands with soap and singing one round of “Happy Birthday” while washing them, will give you time to get rid of all the bugs.
  3. Keyboard and mouse.  A co-worker’s germs can linger on your computer.  Rhinovirus, (cause of the common cold), can survive from hours to days on surfaces like keyboards.  Even if you are the only one who uses your computer, wipe these down weekly with a disinfectant.
  4. Lobby elevator buttons.  These little knobs are loaded with everyone’s germs.  Let someone else press the button, or use your knuckle, and apply hand sanitizer.
  5. Shopping cart handles.  Up to 8 in 10 may have E.coli, so use the hand sanitizer the store offers for free, or keep some in your car or purse to use after shopping.  (I keep a bottle in the side pocket of my car door). 

Here are some ingredients that you probably have in your pantry that are good for cleaning: 

  • Rubbing alcohol.  Dilute with one-half water to wipe down remotes and remove fingerprints on appliances, including stainless.
  • Lemon juice.  Mix with cream of tartar to make a paste, then scrub into rust stains on bathtubs – leave it on for a few hours until the stain disappears.
  • Fresh lemon. Cut one in half, sprinkle with salt, and use it to clean cutting boards and bring shine back to copper pots and pans.
  • White vinegar.  This rivals the disinfecting power of bleach.  Mix equal parts vinegar and water to clean mirrors.  Dip a cloth in the mixture, wipe, and buff dry.
  • Baking soda.  Use to remove marks from hard surfaces and deodorize your fridge.  Make it into a paste with hydrogen peroxide (1/3 c. soda to 2/3 c. peroxide) to remove underarm stains from white clothing.

There are many earth-friendly cleaning products that will kill almost 100 per cent of germs for house or office cleaning.  Remember, practicing good hand hygiene is very important for the prevention of disease.  Teach your children to get into the habit of washing their hands often. 

Source: Health.com

General Safety Issues

THERE’S A NEW BUG IN TOWN!

Actually, not yet, but if we’re not careful, there may be a new superbug on it’s way.  Just about the time it was announced that the H1N1 pandemic is over, along comes news that there’s another gene with the potential to turn almost any bacteria into an antibiotic-resistant bug.  The name of this bad boy is NDM-1, called New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamose.  Seems New Delhi is the place it was first identified.  Patients seeking travel tours, which include plastic surgery, in India and Pakistan have been reported as becoming ill once they returned to their home countries. 

More than 50 British patients who had plastic surgery in Southeast Asia have been infected with this superbug.  According to the Centers for Disease Control, NDM-1 has an enzyme that destroys many commonly used antibiotics, rendering them ineffective.  E-Coli and Klebsiella pneumonia thus far are two of the hosts to this disease.  The CDC is alerting physicians to be aware of this when they are treating patients who have recently received medical care in foreign countries, in order to prevent the spread of these highly resistant organisms. 

Dr. Larry Baddow, Chair of the Division of Infectious Disease at Mayo Clinic says they have been seeing this globally over time.  He classifies it as “slow motion gloom and doom.”  Because of the overuse of antibiotics,  given too often when not necessary, and for longer periods of time, they see an increase in antibiotic-resistant bugs.  Chairman of Preventative Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Dr. William Schaffner, says “antibiotic stewardship” can help keep new bugs from spreading.  Because of economics, many pharmaceutical companies have stopped or slowed down research for stronger forms of antibiotics.  However, medical professionals are monitoring the evolution of this new superbug, and will encourage researchers to find a stronger antibiotic that will combat it, as well as a vaccine to prevent it. 

Importing foods may be another way this bug has spread.  It is causing real concern on a global level.  Until that time, it might be wise to stay with your physician for surgery and treatment.  The grass might look greener on the other side, but it might be full of pests you really don’t want, and no one else wants them, either.  If you must travel to other countries, the same advice that was given during H1N1 to help prevent spreading it, was to practice good hygiene, wash hands often, cover mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, and stay home if you are sick. 

Let’s don’t put out the welcome mat for NDM-1.   We don’t want him in our town!  Do everything you can to stay well.