Cleaning at home could be one of the most trivialised tasks as it may come off as a boring and less interesting activity for many. However, regular and intentional home cleaning could be a formidable foundation to building a personalised food safety culture and overall hygiene in your home.
Whilst other surfaces or enclosures are regarded as suitable for intense cleaning and thought of as the dirtiest, other areas are not easily so. It’s maybe surprising that the unusual places also harbour harmful microorganisms which could be added to your list of regular “to-clean” places.
Let’s dive into looking at just five of them:
- The Dining Table: The dining table is one of the areas that could easily be hotspots for microbial growth if not intentionally cleaned and maintained hygienically. Such eating surfaces are averagely used at least 3 x 7 days (21 times) a week. Each dining activity leaves small drops and pieces of food and leftovers which become nutrition sources for harmful bacteria to thrive when not cleaning intentionally and regularly.
- Storage Spaces: The majority of food items & kitchen accessories’ storage points at home do not come evidently as dirty unless they are emptied. The constant habit of stocking and restoring food items and kitchenware as such areas could always give the illusion that the place is neat unless intentionally looked into. Having a regular schedule to empty and clean your keeping areas could help you remove those lurking microbes
- Fridge Compartments: Most fridges come compartmentalised for easy storage and access. However, depending on your use, fridge floors could be a danger zone for microbes that thrive under cold conditions and will linger till it is thoroughly cleaned. Microbes that thrive in fridges could recontaminate fresh stocks of food leading to food spoilage, wattage, and in some cases foodborne ailments.
- Microwaves: Microwaves are least thought of as hotspots for harmful bacteria. Foods that are heated spill onto floors and walls and when left uncleaned could favor harmful microbial growth. The common habit of using microwaves to defrost raw foods whose juices have micro splashes on microwave surfaces provides nourishment for bacteria growth. Such soils contaminate anything that touches it.
- Kitchen Sink and Accessories: How likely do folks assume kitchen sinks to be clean because they usually have cleaning components in them (either water, soap, lather, etc.). However, without friction in addition to the cleaning agents at these surfaces, no cleaning has occurred. Some bacteria are known to attach to steel surfaces, multiply, and form communities to protect themselves, technically termed biofilms. When these biofilms are formed they have the potential to resist some cleaning agents and techniques.
I recommend these five areas be added to your regular cleaning lists as you aim to build a food safety culture at home whilst protecting you and your family from those unfriendly bacteria.
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Written by Maame Ekua Manful
Last page review: 23/12/2021
Next page review: 31/12/2024