A new study released by Safefood Ireland has found the vast majority of Irish people do not thoroughly wash their hands after handling raw chicken and fail to properly wash down their kitchen surfaces after food preparation.

The findings were released to coincide with a new campaign by Safefood, which aims to show how easily food poisoning germs can spread in the kitchen.

The study involved 120 people preparing two meals - a beef burger and a warm chicken salad. They had to follow specific instructions, with 60 of the people working in a test kitchen, while the other 60 worked in their own kitchens.

Throughout both kitchens, webcams were used to observe the task and swabs were taken from the food, kitchen surfaces and the participants' hands to assess the presence of potentially dangerous bacteria.

When it came to the participants' hands, at least eight in 10 had not washed theirs properly after handling raw chicken, while the hands of one in three were contaminated with raw meat bacteria after the exercise.

Almost all of the kitchen surfaces had not been washed properly after food preparation and almost half of the kitchens were contaminated with raw meat bacteria.

Half of the chopping boards used were also not properly washed and were contaminated with raw meat bacteria and the use of utensils was no better.

In fact, almost three in four people failed to properly wash the knife they had been using on raw chicken before reusing it on salad vegetables. Furthermore, at least one in three side salads that were server with a beef burger were contaminated with raw meat bacteria.

Meanwhile, results from a second study also showed that raw meat bacteria can live for at least 24 hours on kitchen surfaces.

According to Safefood chief executive, Martin Higgins, ‘by highlighting the trail of these germs around the kitchen and revealing their journey, the campaign emphasises the dangers to consumers of not following simple food hygiene practices and the risks this can pose to themselves and others'.

Another interpretation would be, bugs that make people sick are not simple to control; they’re everywhere and easily move about, which is why loads have to be reduced before foods enter a grocery store, or restaurant or home kitchen. Food safety is not simple.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that “Peter Sutherland is a clean and tidy-looking man as would be expected of a NSW Food Authority employee. His uniform is neatly pressed and his spectacles are sparkling. His unassuming appearance would easily go unnoticed in a busy restaurant.”

That’s not an accurate description of Peter. He’s dashing in his own way, and has a healthy sense of humor.

''My job is not necessarily just about inspecting the kitchen, it is about observing people's behaviour,'' Sutherland (ritght, pic from SMH) says, his eyes slowly scanning the sink of dirty dishes, stove top and fridge. ''It is amazing how quickly people forget an officer is in the kitchen.''

Sutherland prefers the title of food safety officer to health inspector to describe the work of council officers who visit restaurants. The NSW Food Authority gathers the results from these inspections and publishes them in an annual report card.

According to the latest report card in October, restaurant standards are improving. But hundreds still end up on the NSW Food Authority name-and-shame list, updated weekly.

It is questionable whether most home kitchens in Sydney would live up to the same standards. My kitchen, for one, would be a shoo-in to be named and shamed.

''It is amazing how many people don't wash their hands - 35 per cent admit to only remembering to wash their hands after they have started cooking,'' he says.
The tea towel is another of Sutherland's bugbears. Like chopping boards - which should be scrubbed between uses and regularly given a ''good dose of sunlight'' - tea towels are a common source of cross-contamination. ''You use the tea towel to dry the dishes, wipe the bench, maybe wipe the floor and then you might wipe your child's nose,'' he says.
 

Sydney restaurants and cafes will be subjected to random swabs of their kitchens and cooking equipment to test for the presence of bacteria under a new program to begin next year.

As part of new enhanced program to be conducted by the City of Sydney council, health inspectors will take samples for testing from food preparation areas including from chopping boards, bench tops and dish clothes as part of their routine inspections.

The swabs will be tested for Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria — two forms of bacteria which can contribute to food poisoning and illness.

City of Sydney chief executive officer Monica Barone told Hospitality magazine the sampling program reflects the high expectations of the million city workers, visitors and residents who rely on cafes, restaurants and sandwich shops every day, adding,

“As a global city and Australia’s leading culinary destination, people expect a high standard of cleanliness and hygiene at the restaurants and cafes where we all eat. … These sampling measures go above and beyond mandatory legislative requirements and provide customers with added reassurance that the kitchen surfaces used for the preparation of food are being monitored.”

The enhanced measures are part of the City of Sydney’s thorough inspection program of the 3,000 Central Sydney and inner city restaurants, cafes and food premises. Barone said not all premises will be tested, but random samples may be taken at anytime.

Premises found to have elevated levels will be re-inspected and staff given advice and training on hygiene practices. Premises found to continually return elevated readings may be issued with warning notices and fines – which are published on the NSW Food Authority’s website.

At least 15 people have been diagnosed with what appears to be food poisoning after eating at the Chattanooga Community Kitchen. The County Health Department is investigating.

Officials are interviewing people who have eaten there and supervising a clean-up of the food preparation area.

Until more is known about what made these people sick, the kitchen will only be serving broth and dry toast.