It's not just your hands that need washing before, during and after food preparation. To prevent food poisoning, it's also important to remember to wash your cutting boards. If not cleaned and maintained properly, cutting boards can hold harmful bacteria and spread food poisoning.
The most important reason to wash, rinse, and sanitize cutting boards is to prevent contamination from one food to another. Cutting boards can harbor harmful bacteria, such as E. coli and Salmonella, which can be transferred to other foods and cause food poisoning.
Key points. Regularly cleaning surfaces in your home helps prevent the spread of germs that can make you sick. Cleaning surfaces in your home removes germs, dirt, and other impurities and helps you and your family stay healthy.
Explanation: Washing or sanitizing a meat slicer or knife actually prevent contamination of other foods due to the presence of some bacteria like Escherichia coli present in meat.
As a rule of thumb, it's a good idea to clean and sanitize your cutting board after every use, even if you only used it for fresh produce. In addition, you should always clean and sanitize your cutting board after using it for a raw animal product, like meat.
Scrub, rinse and sanitize cutting boards, knives and other utensils after each task. Wash then rinse with clean water and then sanitize slicers and food processors after each task.
Boards used to prepare food must be washed with hot soapy water and rinsed with clean water before being air dried, or patted dry with clean paper towels. Following the cleaning process, both wooden and plastic boards can then be sanitised using chlorine bleach.
The objective of cleaning and sanitizing food contact surfaces is to remove food (nutrients) that bacteria need to grow, and to kill those bacteria that are present. It is important that the clean, sanitized equipment and surfaces drain dry and are stored dry so as to prevent bacteria growth.
Disconnect the machine from its power source and set the blade to zero. Wipe away large food pieces with a paper towel or cloth. Using a clean cloth, a food-grade cleaner, and hot water, wipe down the blade, carriage, food chute, product pusher, and product catcher parts.
Meats and poultry contain bacteria that are harmful if they enter the body. Due to this, some people wash meat before cooking, freezing, or marinating it.
Proper cleaning and sanitizing practices are critical in preventing bacteria that can cause foodborne illness. Cleaning and sanitizing food contact surfaces is one of the most important steps to prevent foodborne illness.
To prevent the spread of infection, you should regularly clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that are touched often. For example, in your house, this would include countertops, doorknobs, faucet and toilet handles, light switches, remotes, and toys.
By building up a clean and disinfecting or sanitizing routine you are wiping out those infectious microbes that will conceivably make you become sick. It essential to clean, disinfect and store equipment appropriately to keep away from the infectious microscopic organisms from entering your body.
When disinfecting kitchen cutting boards made of plastic, apply to the surface and leave for 10 minutes before wiping. Remember to always rinse your cutting board with water once complete. Please note: Please always use Lysol products as directed on the label.
The most sanitary types of cutting boards are plastic and glass cutting boards. Plastic cutting boards are nonporous, easy to clean, and can be sanitized in a dishwasher, which helps eliminate bacteria. Glass cutting boards are also nonporous, do not absorb liquids, and can be easily sterilized.
Scientists at the University of Wisconsin have found that 99.9% of bacteria placed on a wooden chopping board begin to die completely within minutes. After being left at room temperature overnight, there were no remaining living bacteria on the wooden boards the next day.
The key reason to wash, rinse, and sanitize a meat slicer or knife is to remove pathogens and prevent foodborne illnesses.
To sanitize with alcohol, wipe or dip the tool into the alcohol. No prolonged soak is needed. Rubbing alcohol (70% isopropyl alcohol) and ethanol are readily purchased from most drug stores and other retail outlets and can be used directly from the container with no dilution necessary.
A knife must be cleaned and sanitized immediately after use, especially when switching between different types of food like raw meats and vegetables, to prevent cross-contamination.
Sanitizing reduces the number of germs on objects and surfaces to levels considered safe. Use weaker bleach solutions or sanitizing sprays. Objects or surfaces should be cleaned frst before sanitizing.
To disinfect your cutting board, use a fresh solution of 1 tablespoon of unscented, liquid chlorine bleach per gallon of water. Flood the surface with the bleach solution and allow it to stand for several minutes. Rinse with water and air dry or pat dry with clean paper towels.
Non-food contact surfaces like walls, ceilings, floors, and doorknobs exteriors still need regular cleaning. However, these surfaces do not need sanitizing–but you should consider creating a regular disinfecting schedule for non-food contact surfaces.
To prevent foodborne illness, it is also crucial to remember to wash your cutting boards. If not cleaned and maintained properly, cutting boards can hold harmful bacteria and spread foodborne illness.
Both wood and plastic cutting boards will become contaminated with bacteria on contact with any raw animal product. Both types of cutting boards can transfer bacteria from raw meat to other foods unless they are sanitized.
Clean cutting boards thoroughly with hot soapy water, followed by a hot water rinse and a final sanitising step (1 tablespoon bleach per litre of water) after using. Store cooked food and raw food separately.