Cleaning the kitchen counter surfaces after food preparation can reduce the risk of infection

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.October 27, 2020

Food and humans can carry and spread dangerous microbes, and cleaning can protect you from getting sick. But it also takes time, uses chemicals and water, and some people are concerned that excessive cleaning may remove the natural bacterial flora that we would prefer to have around us to stay healthy.

Therefore, the scientists conducted investigations focusing on when people from different European countries clean kitchen counter surfaces and whether surfaces that appear to be visibly clean could actually protect you from infection by pathogenic bacteria.

We have noticed that most consumers clean kitchen counters and cutting boards immediately after preparing food. This is the best time to remove unwanted bacteria after handling foods that may contain harmful bacteria, such as raw meat or dirty vegetables. “

Solveig Langsrud, scientist, Nofima

Coordinates the EU project called SafeConsume in which the research was conducted.

Created a “food spill” with mashed chicken, waffle mix and iceberg lettuce

“We started the project to determine if there is a connection between visible dirt in the kitchen and levels of bacteria. As expected, there wasn’t. Many bacteria may be present on surfaces that look clean and few on surfaces that look dirty.” says Trond Møretrø, also from Nofima.

But removing all the bacteria is not the goal. Scientists wanted to find out if food spills that can typically contain dangerous bacteria were visible on kitchen surfaces. Three different types of spilled food (chicken, egg and lettuce) in different concentrations were applied by consumers to countertops and cutting boards. Consumers reported how visible the food spill was.

Less than half of consumers could visually detect spill concentrations that may contain enough dangerous bacteria to make them sick.

“The ingestion of harmful bacteria can be done directly through the hands or by transferring it to other foods that have been on the kitchen surface and will not be cooked, such as bread or fruit,” says Paula Teixeira

Another crucial factor is the type of material that the kitchen surface is made of. For example, it was found that it was easier to see food spills on laminate surfaces than on wood and plastic.

The three types of spilled food were selected because they could contain pathogenic bacteria Campylobacter is Salmonella.
It is worth noting that there are major differences between various European countries regarding the spread of these bacteria.

To study the survival of pathogenic bacteria Campylobacter is Salmonella, the scientists put them in spilled food and water and dried it on a surface. Bacteria on clean surfaces die rather quickly, but bacteria live longer if found in a food spill. Furthermore, scientists have found out Salmonella bacteria survive longer than Campylobacter.

The highest risk occurs soon after spilling the food and the best way to reduce the risk of infection is to clean up immediately after handling raw meat, for example.

Differences in the cleaning habits of European cuisine

The results suggested that keeping things visibly clean isn’t enough to protect yourself and others from bacterial infections. Therefore, the scientists wanted to find out how many people actually clean kitchen surfaces on a regular basis right after preparing food.

Nearly 10,000 people in ten European countries took part in the survey. The countries in question were Denmark, France, Greece, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany and Hungary.

“There are several reasons why people clean kitchen surfaces. There may be social and cultural reasons, such as wanting things to look clean and tidy. People may want to remove visible dirt because it gives them a sense of disgust, or there may be health-related reasons for cleaning, for example, to prevent infection, ”explains Professor Lydia Martens of Keele University.

On average, 73% of European consumers report cleaning their kitchen counter and cutting boards immediately after using them.

The second most common occasion to clean kitchen counter surfaces is just before people start preparing food. Here, Norwegians are at the European average of 53%. At the bottom is Spain with 42%, while 62% in Romania clean the surfaces of the kitchen counter before starting to prepare food.

Age and cleaning habits

There seems to be a difference between the young and the elderly. While young people between the ages of 16 and 25 clean their kitchen counter more often when they are dirty or sticky, the over 65 age group cleans more regularly – and it is also in this age group that most people cleans before preparing food.

People who participated in the survey could select multiple options, and most did. However, just over five percent say they only clean the kitchen counter and cutting boards when they look dirty.

“It is these people who will earn the most if they establish new habits. Because pathogenic bacteria are not visible to the naked eye,” says Paula Teixeira.

Facts about research

The research is part of the five-year EU Horizon2020 project called SafeConsume www.safeconsume.eu). SafeConsume is coordinated by Nofima and has 32 partners in 14 countries. The project is interdisciplinary and the overall goal is to reduce the health impact caused by foodborne pathogenic bacteria. The SafeConsume.eu project website is updated regularly.

The research was recently published in the scientific journal Food Control https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956713519306668

Practical information on how to clean hygienically can be found at https://www.ifh-homehygiene.org/

Fact Box – when the kitchen counter is cleaned:

When respondents to the European survey were asked when they cleaned the surfaces of the kitchen counter and the surfaces where the food was prepared (they could select multiple options), they replied as follows:

• Immediately after preparing food – 73 percent
• Right before preparing food – 53 percent
• When it’s dirty – 43 percent
• When he came into contact with something dirty – 39 percent
• When it’s sticky – 30 percent
• When guests are visiting – 16 percent