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LA County Department of Public Health - Food Safety Quiz

Our "kitchen has received a "B" with a score of 84."

-gotta chill large batch cooked foods faster
-sanitize/replace our sponge frequently
-get a thermometer for the fridge

We got an A....we're a bit maniacal about the kitchen....but cook beef rare, refuse to change and willing to take my chances. No issues in 60 years

I lied about my zip code and got a "C". Same issues as Marty, plus I keep outside doors open, don't separate stuff at the store or in cupboards, fridge, etc. I carefully wash veggies that will be eaten fresh but pay less attention if they'll be cooked. My cupboards get dusty, heh. Some questions were hard to answer without an "I don't know" option. I haven't a clue what the temp is in my fridge, for example. Stuff doesn't spoil, so I figure it's okay. On the plus side, I sterilize a cutting board if I use it, don't have mice or roaches, and wash my hands a lot, though I don't dry them with paper towels! BTW, I'm surprised they didn't ask the dish towel question. I air dry dishes (more out of laziness than for health reasons), but I've read that dish towels are a common source of bacteria.

We have a plaque in the kitchen that says THIS HOUSE IS CLEAN ENOUGH TO BE HEALTHY BUT MESSY ENOUGH TO BE HAPPY.

Got an A, with a 93 ... my, my.... we are doing something right in our old age it would appear...

You beat me by a point, Wylie!

I got a 93 also, but coming from a food service background, that helps.

Sanitize the cutting boards, never use a sponge, raw meats below other foods, cover cooked food, cool large pots of food like chili in smaller or flat containers....


The one thing I got marked down on (and I was honest here) was that the screen door screen has pulled out of the channel and does allow bugs in when we leave the main door open.


But NOTHING sits on the counter without being covered and the kitchen dishrags get washed and bleached multiple times a day.


Good information and a good quiz.

Originally Posted by BajaNuts1

never use a sponge

How come? Seriously.
It's amazing how much of this stuff I've never heard of, probably because I haven't lived in the US since 1982. I do recall reading about the plastic vs. wood cutting board controversy (forget who won) and a few others, but I've been happily sponging away since, ahem, college? I must have guts of kryptonite ... "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger".

Originally Posted by kate

How come? Seriously.
It's amazing how much of this stuff I've never heard of, probably because I haven't lived in the US since 1982. I do recall reading about the plastic vs. wood cutting board controversy (forget who won) and a few others, but I've been happily sponging away since, ahem, college? I must have guts of kryptonite ... "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger".

Cuz the Government tells you so... think not..

Originally Posted by BajaNuts1

I got a 93 also, but coming from a food service background, that helps.

Sanitize the cutting boards, never use a sponge, raw meats below other foods, cover cooked food, cool large pots of food like chili in smaller or flat containers....


The one thing I got marked down on (and I was honest here) was that the screen door screen has pulled out of the channel and does allow bugs in when we leave the main door open.


But NOTHING sits on the counter without being covered and the kitchen dishrags get washed and bleached multiple times a day.


Good information and a good quiz.

Nuts, with the amount of "capsaicin" floating around in your kitchen... doubt any invertebrate and/or small mammals would make it....

Still waiting for that brother-in-law to try that "Ghost Chili"...

I give our kitchen an A+

The food smells good, tastes good, friends and family wanting to come back for more, haven't lost a client yet and no rats or cockroaches within eyesight.

Well, except for the big one sitting at the head of the table...

I bleach my kitchen sponge but I do keep them for a while. I also bleach my cutting board

We don't use HOT soapy water to hand wash dishes- for heaven's sake we live in the desert in the middle of nowhere and every drop of water is precious. I can't wait for hot water to arrive from the water heater before I start filling up the kitchen sink for dishes or we'd waste gallons. (For the cooler months when the water coming from the below ground cistern is really cold, we've got a bucket in the shower that we fill up while awaiting warm water to arrive before showering and the bucket gets dumped on plants after bathing). Sorry I'm not doing that for dishes and I hope bacteria understand.

Thank goodness the quiz didn't ask the question I was dreading "do your pets ever walk on your kitchen counters?" I'd like to go on record saying this is on of my biggest pet peeves- no cats on the counters or kitchen table! We keep one of those ultrasonic sound devices handy which our 2 gatos hate. We don't have to push the button anymore- just hold up the device and both gatos cringe and you've got their attention.

But they love to sleep in the hottest spot in the house which is on top of the kitchen cabinets (where it's gotta be about 100 degrees on some days) and the path to get up there requires a leap of 5-6 ft from the counter. You can tell when they're starting to get sleepy at midday and they're looking up at their favorite napping spot longingly trying to decide if it's worth the ear splitting punishment of venturing on to the counter. Rather than risking a feline hip fracture, at nap time the "no counter rules" aren't enforced if they're enroute to the nap place. Yuk!! It's grosses me out to confess this. Lemme tell you, I'm fine tuning the plans for our main casa right now and there will be plenty of cat features in the new design so this will only be "temporary" depending on how it takes to build, ha ha.

I thought we were pretty sanitary but we only got a "C" on the quiz.

You're all invited for dinner anyway. Come early and I'll administer Hepatitis A boosters with the appetizers.

Oladulce, we have an on-demand hot water heater (they have their pros and cons) I start by filling the sink, water is cold, but in no time it is hot hot hot. Half a sink of water and the cold is diluted to a too hot for hands temp. The sink (and showers) drain into a cistern and the water is used for the garden. Three years at this and the plants thrive. I also have a dishwasher....it uses way less water than hand washing and it heats the water, and it's amazing the things you can clean in a dishwasher. Something to at least investigate.

I'm both sponge and rag. I clean the sponges in the microwave.

I used to have a cat that was a counter climber, for the same reason as yours. Leave some plastic bags or plastic wrap on the counter. After they slip on their little tushes a few times, the counters are no longer appealing. At least it worked for me. I also had solid surface counters, never had to try that technique on tiled counters.

Originally Posted by dusty

I also have a dishwasher....it uses way less water than hand washing and it heats the water, and it's amazing the things you can clean in a dishwasher. Something to at least investigate.

Originally Posted by kate

"How come? Seriously."
It's amazing how much of this stuff I've never heard of, probably because I haven't lived in the US since 1982. I do recall reading about the plastic vs. wood cutting board controversy (forget who won) and a few others, but I've been happily sponging away since, ahem, college? I must have guts of kryptonite ... "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger".

Hey Kate,
not going to get all "Health Inspector" here,
but sponges as they have been typically used in the past are one of the worst germ-spreaders in the house. There have been tests done that show the kitchen sponge is more dangerous and more germ-y than the typical toilet seat!

In the past, sponges would be used to wipe the cutting board after chopping up the raw meat, rinsed under running water (which does not kill all the salmonella, e-coli and other nasties from raw meats) and then the same sponge would wipe down the counter and the fresh lettuce got chopped right where the raw meat juices got spread by the sponge.

One of the big things now in food service is to have separate cutting boards for fresh veggis and raw meats. I don't think we all need to go to that extreme as long as the the simple basics of "no cross contamination" are observed.

The Big thing with sponges is, they have to be Cleaned and SANITIZED!!! DAILY!!!! (and in my HUMBLE opinion..multiple times daily when coming in contact with dangerous foods like raw meats)

Next time you use your sponge, think about what it is touching, how it was washed, and does it still have little bits of last nights hamburger in some of the tiny little pores as you are wiping up from the chicken and getting ready to cut the radishes.

A damp sponge for 30 seconds in a microwave will accomplish the same thing as cooking the meat to 160F. It kills the bacteria. The sponge is then safe to use to wipe surfaces that foods that will be eaten raw will touch.

Or wash it with hot soapy water and then bleach water ( 1 teaspoon of bleach per gallon of COLD [not hot] water). Bleach will also kill the nasties in the sponge and make it safe to wipe the counter where the carrots are going to be cut.

Sidebar bleach lesson 101- Hot water will destroy the bleach and soap also destroys the sanitizing aspects of bleach. So, a bucket of Hot Soapy Bleach water will wash things nicely, but not bleach anything. The proper procedure, as it has been done for decades is...Hot soapy wash water...RINSE...cool bleach water to sanitize.


Wash, rinse, sanitize... that's part of the reason I have to have 5 sinks in my commercial kitchen...and if I dealt with meat...I'd have to have 6 sinks!

wash
rinse
sanitize
hand washing
veggie prep
meat prep

Sponges aren't bad, they just have to be taken care of properly.

And fwiw, I watched a cooking show by Emeril Legasse (many years ago) where he cut up the raw chicken on the wooden board, wiped it with a dry towel and then proceeded to cut up the raw veggies for the salad! I have to admit...I actually did email to the show about that one! Didn't watch the show much after that, but when I did, I noticed that they did have the bleach rags in use.

Sorry to get a little long winded. But after experiencing food poisoning first hand, ( and I know Legs did also) If there's a chance to prevent someone from going through that with a little simple education about sanitation and cross-contamination awareness.....




OK- I'm down off my .



But if I come visit and I see a sponge, I'll definitely be asking if it needs a little time in the Nuker!

An ounce of prevention is all it is.

Excellent advice; we'll be nukin' our sponges now and it's so easy to do.

My elderly mom used to keep them until they were half-frayed away and brown/grey slimy/grimy; wood cutting board never washed(let alone bleached) with a greasy patina built up over many years.

Thanks, Nuts!
"Nuking" is easy enough with a microwave. I rarely if ever do anything with raw meat, but I 'spose it's the same with raw seafood or chicken. I didn't know about hot water and soap destroying the properties of bleach. You learn something new every day!

Originally Posted by Marty Cortez

Excellent advice; we'll be nukin' our sponges now and it's so easy to do.

My elderly mom used to keep them until they were half-frayed away and brown/grey slimy/grimy; wood cutting board never washed(let alone bleached) with a greasy patina built up over many years.

You probably have a very strong immune system.