{"id":138890,"date":"2018-06-09T23:47:24","date_gmt":"2018-06-09T23:47:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/english\/kitchen-towels-can-cause-food-poisoning\/"},"modified":"2018-06-09T23:47:24","modified_gmt":"2018-06-09T23:47:24","slug":"kitchen-towels-can-cause-food-poisoning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/english\/kitchen-towels-can-cause-food-poisoning\/","title":{"rendered":"Kitchen towels &#8216;can cause food poisoning&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure>                                  <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Kitchen towel on a counter\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/2802\/production\/_101924201_kitchentowel_getty.jpg\"\/>Image copyright                  Getty Images                                                    <\/figure>\n<p class=\"caps\">Multi-use of kitchen towels is putting households at risk of food poisoning, research suggests.<\/p>\n<p>Scientists from the University of Mauritius examined 100 kitchen towels that had been used for a month. <\/p>\n<p>They found E.coli was more likely to be found on towels used for multiple jobs, such as wiping utensils and cleaning surfaces, as well as drying hands.<\/p>\n<p>It was also more likely to be found on damp towels or those in households where meat was eaten. <\/p>\n<p>Multiple use increases the chance of cross-contamination of potential pathogens that can spread bacteria and lead to food poisoning.<\/p>\n<p>The government recommends washing or changing dish cloths, tea towels, sponges and oven gloves regularly and letting them dry before re-use. <\/p>\n<p>The research is being presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Atlanta, Georgia.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The dirtiest place in your kitchen might surprise you...<\/li>\n<li>Washing hands in cold water &#039;as good as hot&#039;<\/li>\n<li>Warning over eating raw dough due to E. coli risk in flour<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Scientists cultured the bacteria found on the towels to identify them and determined the bacterial load.<\/p>\n<p>Of the towels collected, 49% had bacterial growth, which increased in number with extended family, presence of children and increasing family size. <\/p>\n<figure>                                                                                                       Image copyright                  Getty Images                                                    <\/figure>\n<p>Of the 49 samples which were positive for bacterial growth, 36.7% grew coliform bacteria, a group which includes E. coli. <\/p>\n<p>Of the rest, 36.7% were enterococcus spp and 14.3% staphylococcus aureus.<\/p>\n<p>Coliform bacteria and staphylococcus were found at a &quot;significantly higher prevalence&quot; on towels from meat-eating households. <\/p>\n<p>E.coli is a type of bacteria common in human and animal intestines. The majority are harmless but some can cause severe food poisoning and serious infection.<\/p>\n<h2>How to prevent germs from spreading in the kitchen<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Change dish cloths and tea towels regularly<\/li>\n<li>Some experts recommend you should replace your kitchen towels daily, or on days you&#039;ve been cooking<\/li>\n<li>The use of disposable cloths or paper towels will stop the spread of germs<\/li>\n<li>Reusable cloths should be disinfected or washed at 60C (140F) after each use<\/li>\n<li>Wash washing-up brushes in a dishwasher regularly or clean with detergent and warm water after each use<\/li>\n<li>Ensure food-preparation surfaces are clean before use<\/li>\n<li>Use separate chopping boards for uncooked food - such as raw meat - and food that doesn&#039;t need cooking <\/li>\n<li>Wash and dry your hands after handling foods such as raw meat<\/li>\n<li>Clean surfaces immediately after use<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The researchers said the presence of E. coli indicated possible faecal contamination and bad hygiene practices.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;The data indicated that unhygienic practices while handling non-vegetarian food could be common in the kitchen,&quot; said lead author Dr Susheela Biranjia-Hurdoyal.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Humid towels and multipurpose usage of kitchen towels should be discouraged. Bigger families with children and elderly members should be especially vigilant to hygiene in the kitchen,&quot; she said. <\/p>\n<p>They found staphylococcus was more likely to be found on towels from families with children and of lower socio-economic status. <\/p>\n<p>Staphylococcus can cause food poisoning as the bacteria multiply quickly at room temperature to produce a toxin that causes illness. It is killed by cooking and pasteurisation.<\/p>\n<p>              The best way to get news on the go<br \/>Download the BBC News App.                                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/news.files.bbci.co.uk\/include\/newsspec\/19854\/assets\/app-project-assets\/bbc_news_logo.svg\"\/>                                       <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/news.files.bbci.co.uk\/include\/newsspec\/19854\/assets\/app-project-assets\/google_play_store.svg\"\/>                              <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/news.files.bbci.co.uk\/include\/newsspec\/19854\/assets\/app-project-assets\/ios_app_store.svg\"\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Image copyright Getty Images Multi-use of kitchen towels is putting households at risk of food poisoning, research suggests. Scientists from the University of Mauritius examined 100 kitchen towels that had<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":138891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-138890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138890\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/138891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}