“How to Keep Your Kitchen Safe and Your Cutting Boards When Preparing Food and Cooking During the Pandemic”

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT TO REPLACE YOUR WOODEN CUTTING BOARD

IF YOUR BOARD IS TWO YEARS OLD OR MORE!

 

“How to Keep Your Kitchen and Cutting Boards Safe When Preparing Food and Cooking During the Pandemic”

COVID-19 has made every trip to the grocery store a test of our handling of this infectious disease and of how to keep all of us safe. Even after people get food into their homes, where social distancing is no longer a concern, more challenges await us.  Our everyday actions in the kitchen - stocking the pantry, washing produce, preparing meals - all involve opportunities for us to transmit the novel coronavirus.

The virus’s primary mode of transmission is person-to-person. The CDC, FDA, and USDA have all said they have seen no evidence of foodborne transmission. But to avoid bringing the novel coronavirus home from the store or infecting a family member, home cooks can break the chain of transmission by following these simple kitchen safety practices.

Health authorities have said by following these easy “4 Steps of Food Safety” will help us all: Clean (wash your hands, utensils, and cutting board surfaces often); separate (separate raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs from other groceries); cook (to safe temperatures); and chill (refrigerate or freeze leftovers within two hours). All these rules still apply during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a few additional steps and practices still needed.

Washing Your Hands More Often

Preparing a clean kitchen begins the moment you arrive home from a trip to the store or receive a grocery delivery. Bring the bags in, then immediately wash your hands. If you don’t regularly use hand sanitizer in your car after visiting the store, you may even want to go back inside to wash your hands before returning to your car to unload grocery bags.

“Unless you’ve inhaled coronavirus and you’re bringing it into your house that way, probably the next most likely way that you’re bringing coronavirus into your house is on your hands from something you’ve touched,” food microbiology has prepared me in the time of this writing.

This is one of many moments when the Holland Cutting Board Co. recommends washing your hands. “A good rule of thumb is (wash your hands) every time you change tasks, or when you transition between areas,” “So coming into your house that’s a transition, putting away groceries, that’s a transition, and so on.”

Always follow CDC instructions on handwashing. Proper hand hygiene when entering your house, handling groceries, and preparing food helps you feel in control of your safety.

Unpacking and Storing

Dismantling your groceries can feel like a high-pressure situation, but the basic steps are fairly straightforward. If you can, place grocery bags on the floor rather than the counter. Put away groceries as you normally would, starting with refrigerated items first. End that task by washing your hands and sanitizing the entire area, especially countertops that you used in the process.

We follow the USDA’s strictest food-safety measures to protect people with compromised immune systems.

The Holland Cutting Board Co. recommends washing reusable cloth bags in hot water in the laundry after unpacking. Disposable bags should be thrown away or wiped down with alcohol wipes. “These bags are not safe to ignore, as the virus can likely survive on them for several days.

CDC also cites evidence that the novel coronavirus can survive on cardboard for 24 hours and on plastic for 72 hours, so it’s conceivable that a sick shopper or worker at the grocery store could leave the virus on a food package that you could then bring home. Everyone should sanitize the outside of all food packaging before storing it. You can use your own discretion.

A quick hand sanitizer after handling packages, or simply after handling packages and before eating. “The virus itself is not going to move. It can’t jump between packages. The way it moves is by your hands.

To keep your kitchen safe, we suggest creating two zones: a dirty area for collecting groceries and a sanitized area for placing items as you clean them. Then you can sanitize the dirty area after you finish with your groceries.

It's very important not to break these common food safety rules while following the two-step sanitizing process. Washing your hands is extremely important; please don’t forget to wash your hands between tasks, as you may be cross-contaminating items like raw meat and produce. The process may also delay refrigeration, disrupt the cold chain, or cause people to ingest sanitizer accidentally.

If possible, it would be a good idea to leave nonperishable foods outside on a screened porch or in a garage for 3 days to kill off the virus if you suspect it, before bringing items into the kitchen. Protect your food from outside pests.

Cleaning Up

You should routinely scrub down kitchen surfaces like counters, wash your cutting board or boards, the refrigerator, and the sink after putting away your groceries, before and after cooking, and at the end of the day. Be sure to use fresh cutting boards free of cracks and deep cuts, as these are great hiding places for the unknown creatures. Never wash a wooden cutting board in your dishwasher; hand washing is recommended. Cleaning dishes in a dishwasher will help with sanitization if you have one, and give your dining table a once-over before sitting down to a meal.

The CDC suggests a two-step process: cleaning to remove germs and dirt, then disinfecting to kill remaining germs. When washing with soap and water, you are scrubbing away the grime. “The surfactants in soaps break through the lipid layer of the virus.” After soap and water, we recommend following that with alcohol wipes that are at least 60 percent alcohol.

Be sure to follow instructions on cleaning products and don’t experiment with multiple products. “Never mix two chemicals that are not meant to be together.” Your safety is important. You can produce gases or get chemical burns on your skin.

Washing Your Produce

Countless people in the grocery store might handle loose produce not packaged before you get it home, so it’s important to wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly - just as it always has been. Using water creates friction to remove bacteria from the surface. After washing items in running water, she suggests drying them with a paper towel to increase that friction even more.

Be cautious about using dishcloths, sponges, and vegetable scrubbers on produce, as they can cause cross-contamination between items if you’re not careful. Change your dishcloths and sponges frequently; do so every two hours if needed. Also, switching vegetable scrubbers between tasks will eliminate viruses from collecting and being transferred to another food source.

Do not wash produce in soapy water; it is not designed for food. If you ingest soap, it could cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Also, avoid washing items ahead of time and putting them back in the fridge. “Any time you add water to the situation, that can contribute to pathogen growth. “It’s recommended that you not wash fruits and vegetables until you’re ready to consume them.”

Preparing a Meal

When preparing food, be sure to follow standard FDA packaging guidelines. Always follow regular food safety guidelines - like proper cooking temperatures or sanitation while handling raw meat - is even more important during a pandemic, since a trip to the hospital because of E. coli or salmonella could expose you to COVID-19 as well.

As long as your food is prepared properly, “I suggest not wearing disposable gloves if food has been properly sanitized. It's more likely that you'll make a mistake when wearing gloves than when you've washed your bare hands frequently.

As long as you follow hand washing and sanitizing routines, food itself is not a threat. “There are some properties of the organism that make it very, very unlikely to impossible that it’s transmitted by food. The novel coronavirus is an “enveloped” virus, meaning it’s surrounded by a lipid-fat layer, which is easily broken down by stomach acid and bile salts during digestion. “All of the viruses we know that are foodborne illnesses are non-enveloped.

Getting Everyone In Your Household on the Same Page

No matter how you choose to keep your kitchen clean, make sure your family is on the same page. Please make sure you have handwashing practices in place for sterilizing food packages. This only works if everyone in the house remembers to wash their hands after handling items.

 Only having one or two people in the kitchen at a time is a good rule of thumb when bringing groceries in, and staying alert to what is going on at all times should be especially important in and around the kitchen. Having too many people in the kitchen while unpacking groceries or cooking is a good way to spread contamination if handwashing is not followed. If a family member or an adult wants to use the kitchen themselves, make sure they only cook in a sanitized area with items that have already been pre-cleaned.”

Family members who have people living with compromised immune systems likely already have advice from their doctors about food safety, which should help protect them from the novel coronavirus, too.

Because the novel coronavirus isn’t foodborne, and the risk of making a mistake when handling food or cooking can be managed by constant hand washing and disinfecting, the best way to ensure you cook safely for yourself and your family is to do so. “The basics - social distancing, washing your hands, minimizing how often you touch your face - these are all important to a safe and healthy life.”

The Holland Cutting Board Company

Our Wooden Cutting Boards

We Make Are 100% Food Safe

All wooden cutting boards are antibacterial

In a test where food was cut on wooden boards and not washed, the boards were free of bacteria the next day, whereas bacteria thrived on plastic boards. Wood does have natural antibacterial properties simply through its capillary action, which wicks moisture away from the surface.

Wood Is Safer

Wood has natural antibacterial and antimicrobial properties that eliminate about 99 percent of potential contaminants. Even when plastic cutting boards are washed with hot soapy water or put through a dishwasher, they continue to breed bacteria.

Sneezes, coughs, and handshakes aren’t the only way to spread illness-causing germs. Viruses and bacteria can linger around your home. Target these high-touch spots to reduce the spread of germs year-round, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cutting Boards

Wash acrylic, plastic, and glass in the dishwasher.

Hand Wash Only Wood Cutting Boards In The Sink

Always replace worn or cracked cutting boards, as bacteria can grow in their crevices.

Holland Cutting Board Co.

Owner and Manufacturing Director

October 4, 2020