To help prevent the spread of germs, tea towels should be changed at least once a week, but preferably every few days. For best results, if possible, use your towels once and then throw them in the washing machine and buy a new one. The USDA recommends that tea towels be changed frequently, and a common recommendation is to change them daily. However, it depends on how often the towel is used and what it is used for in the kitchen.
For example, if a kitchen towel was used to wipe raw juices from meat, chicken or seafood, it should be immediately put on clothes and use a clean one. The researchers collected 100 tea towels after a month of use and then cultivated and identified the bacteria present. They found that factors such as family size, type of diet, and multiple use of towels affect the growth of pathogens that can cause food poisoning. Almost half of all kitchen towels tested showed bacterial growth, and of 49 percent, 36.7 percent showed Enterococcus spp, 36.7 percent grew coliforms, and 14.3 percent had S.
The last two were significantly present in towels found in non-vegetarian kitchens. Biranjia-Hurdoyal, a senior lecturer in the Department of Health Sciences at the University of Mauritius, told Science Daily: “Wet towels and the multipurpose use of tea towels should be discouraged. Baughn also points out that it's important to remember that if you cut while cooking, don't take the dishcloth you used to dry food or clean potentially contaminated surfaces. I confess that I am as guilty as anyone for forgetting my tea towels on laundry day, but after consulting the experts, those days are over.
A study by the American Society for Microbiology showed that half of the kitchen towels tested contained some form of bacterial growth, such as E. Wet (pitiful) kitchen towels can be a weeping swamp of bacteria and pose significant food safety risks if left to contaminate them in a way crossed other parts of the kitchen. Researchers at the University of Mauritius tested 100 tea towels that had been used for a month and found that many carried pathogens that could cause food poisoning. Bacteria spread throughout the kitchen when that same towel is used to clean the countertops, kitchen table, and stove top.
Biranjia-Hurdoyal, a senior lecturer in the Department of Health Sciences at the University of Mauritius, Mauritius, told Science Daily, referring to the possibility that kitchen towels could cause cross-contamination and therefore cause food poisoning. Coli can cause food poisoning, and experts say there are steps you can take to protect yourself and your family in the kitchen. These germs were also more likely to be found on multi-purpose towels (those used to clean utensils, dry hands, hold hot implements, and clean surfaces) and on kitchen towels of families who ate non-vegetarian diets. Now that you've learned how to remove unwanted organisms from your food space, don't forget to clean up the 17 dirtiest and most disgusting things in your kitchen.
She told the kitchen website Eat This: “I recommend changing tea towels daily in the kitchen and family bathrooms.
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