Do you sparkle or sink when it comes to kitchen hygiene?
A new standard of home hygiene has been launched in Australia to dish the dirt on kitchen cleanliness and food safety.
With seven million reported food poisoning cases in Australia each year and 20% of these from the home, it begs the question, does your kitchen meet the grade?
Created in conjunction with Australian Food Hygiene Services to promote the hygienic benefits of using a dishwasher versus hand washing, the new Home Hygiene Standards Guide is an Australian first, comparing your home kitchen’s food safety standard to that of a professional kitchen.
According to Australian Food Hygiene Services Director and guide creator, Marjorie Harvey, hygiene isn’t about how clean your kitchen looks; it’s what’s underneath that counts.
“There are more germs in the average kitchen than on your toilet seat. Storing, cooking and serving food, as well as how you clean up after yourself are all major contributing factors to your home hygiene level,” says Marjorie.
She continues, “Dishcloths, tea towels, scourers, brushes and sponges harbour bacteria from moisture and food particles. A dishwasher however can remove more than 99.9% of bacteria by providing agitation, heat, and fresh water in every wash ensuring your dishes and cooking equipment is clean and sanitised.”
Dishwashers use a temperature of up to 65 degrees, whereas the average temperature of kitchen sink water used for hand washing is approx 38 degrees.
Serious bacteria, such as, E.Colli can thrive in temperatures up to 44 degrees. This means that when we wash our dishes in the kitchen sink, we may be posing a risk to the health and wellbeing of our families, children and friends.
You can see if your kitchen sparkles or sinks at:
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