Cleanliness standards are something that has always been drilled into my head in the kitchen. Helping in the kitchen, my hands became immune to hot water from a young age, something I always thought was common. If there is one thing that watching any cooking video on social media has shown me, it’s that we definitely were not all taught the same things in the kitchen. While some contamination levels are most likely coming from the production or manufacturing facilities, there are a lot of people causing cross-contamination in their own kitchens. It seems to me that everyone needs some education on food-handling practices and how to minimize and avoid cross-contamination.
The number one thing that I see people doing that gives me a heart attack every single time is washing their chicken! The heat needed to kill salmonella is not going to be achieved in your kitchen sink. Somewhere between 9-20% of foodborne illnesses are a result of improper handling and preparation in the home kitchen, according to the American Journal of Infection Control. In the same article, they report that the overall leading cause of foodborne illness is at retail venues, mostly being caused by improper sanitization and hygiene of workers. While there is not an overall percentage given for the transmission rate of foodborne illnesses from retail venues, I would assume that these two transmission pathways account for 30-50% of foodborne illness.
With consumers being the cause of potentially less than half of foodborne illness transmission I do not believe it would be fair to have the responsibility for food safety solely on the consumer, but that manufacturers and production facilities should be held to a higher standard. I can see how one would think that the consumer should educate themselves more and practice better food safety, and they should, it should not fall on their shoulders to control the transmission of potentially life threatening microbes.
https://www.ajicjournal.org/article/S0196-6553(23)00329-2/fulltext#:~:text=Reports%20have%20suggested%20that%209,food%20prepared%20at%20the%20home.
Comments
While I think that consumers should have a responsibility to cook foods thoroughly to prevent pathogens, I like the point you made about cross-contamination. Cross-contamination of salmonella could happen very easily if the consumer is not super careful when handling the raw chicken. In this way, manufacturers should try and get rid of all the pathogens they can to try and decrease the amount of risk.
I agree with this. Producers should be responsible for removing as many pathogens as required so consumers are able to cook them normally.
As someone who’s worked in fast food, I have to agree that most employees do not follow a handful of common food safety rules. So, I strongly agree with your statement that food retailers should be held more accountable for their handling. However, I don’t agree that the consumer should be exempt from responsibility in food preparation. If the customer is improperly storing food or chooses to eat their food at an unprepared state, they should be willing to accept the risk.
While consumer causes only account for less than half of all foodborne illnesses, I still think the consumer should be held responsible for some things. I do not believe it should be the company’s job to completely foolproof their products when certain things can be killed with proper heating or cooking instructions. I understand that very harmful food-born pathogens should be left up to companies like E. coli 0157, where they can more properly treat them. I feel the consumer can handle other stuff that is not on the Delaney clause that is not as serious.