Achieving hygiene in the domestic kitchen: the effectiveness of commonly used cleaning procedures.
OBJECTIVE
To quantify the transmission of Salmonella and Campylobacter to hands, cloths, and hand- and food-contact surfaces during the preparation of raw poultry in domestic kitchens, and to examine the impact on numbers of these bacteria of detergent-based cleaning alone, or in conjunction with thorough rising.


RESULTS
Groups of volunteers prepared chickens for cooking. Surfaces were sampled either before cleaning or after cleaning using water and detergent with or without thorough rinsing. Although cleaning followed by rinsing consistently achieved decontamination of surfaces contaminated with Campylobacter, significant numbers of surfaces were still contaminated with low numbers of Salmonella. Where cloths contaminated with Salmonella were stored overnight, a reduction in the efficacy of detergent-based cleaning regimes was observed.


CONCLUSIONS
Rinsing is the critical step in ensuring that bacteria are removed from surfaces during cleaning, but this may still leave residual contamination. Growth of Salmonella occurs in some contaminated cloths during overnight storage; Salmonella on cloths stored overnight are also more difficult to remove by washing.


CONCLUSIONS
Rinsing, as part of the cleaning process, is a critical step in achieving hygiene in the kitchen. However, to achieve completely hygienic surfaces, the use of an antimicrobial agent may be necessary.
Cogan
T A
TA
PHLS Food Microbiology Collaborating Laboratory, Exeter, UK. t.a.cogan@ex.ac.uk
Slader
J
J
Bloomfield
S F
SF
Humphrey
T J
TJ
D000818:Animals; D002167:Campylobacter / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002645:Chickens / Q000382:microbiology*; D003296:Cooking; D003470:Culture Media; D003902:Detergents; D004203:Disinfection / Q000379:methods*; D004866:Equipment Contamination; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods*; D006225:Hand / Q000382:microbiology; D006235:Hand Disinfection; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene; D008460:Meat / Q000382:microbiology*; D012475:Salmonella / Q000302:isolation & purification
D003470:Culture Media; D003902:Detergents