If you’re a germaphobe, you may want to skip this one. After living through a pandemic, it’s safe to say that we have all become even more aware of bacteria. The minuscule critters may be invisible to the naked eye, but that won’t stop us from doing our best to get rid of them.
The kitchen, in particular, is a breeding hub for bacteria. Even if you scrub and scrub till your fingers are blue, there will most likely still be traces of the little guys on your stove, sink, countertops, and other surfaces.
A new study, however, has revealed the most contaminated area in the kitchen, and we have to admit that we didn’t even think of it. Led by Professor Donald Schaffner from the Department of Food Science at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Science, the study was published in the Journal of Food Protection. Its purpose was to measure the “prevalence and degree of cross-contamination across a variety of kitchen surfaces during a consumer meal preparation event.”
Based on the findings, the most germ-ridden place is actually spice jars!
For the study, 371 participants were asked to prepare a meal consisting of turkey patties and a lettuce salad. Researchers examined surfaces for traces of the bacteriophage MS2 that is found in the meat, and determined that positivity was below 20% on most surfaces.
The exception, however, was the spice containers of which 48% showed evidence of MS2 cross-contamination.
“Most research on the cross-contamination of kitchen surfaces due to handling of raw meat or poultry products has focused on kitchen cutting boards or faucet handles and has neglected surfaces like spice containers, trash bin lids, and other kitchen utensils,” noted Schaffner. “This makes this study and similar studies from members of this group more comprehensive than previous studies.” In short: clean everything—especially your spice jars.
