Handling raw meat - constantly hand washing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've literally seen a doctor lick their fingers while cooking without washing.

Well, if whatever they are making is going into a pan or oven and will be heated through to at least 160, then any germs from their mouth will be killed by the heat, so there really isn't any contagion problem. If they're making something like salad, that's a different story, but even then it's only a problem if they then use their bare hands to pick up the food -- if they are consistently using utensils instead of their fingers, there's no contagion risk. I do sometimes lick my fingers when baking, but I'm also not sticking my bare fingers into the food.

I assumed they meant handling raw meat and then licking fingers!!

[Anonymous]

I’m not a germophobe, just hygienic. I’m constantly washing my hands, utensils and wiping down the counter when I handle raw meat, fish, and poultry.

[Anonymous]

I try as much as I can to handle raw as little as possible to wash hands as few times as possible. If I can use a utensil I have ready by me instead of hands for instance, I will, then put in dishwasher. But I do wash my hands systematically after each touch. I would not open the fridge, take out a pan with raw meat hands!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've literally seen a doctor lick their fingers while cooking without washing.

Yeah this is why potlucks are Russian roulette! At least in restaurants they have processes and inspections, home chef it’s all on them…

I hate to break it to you, but I think you are vastly overestimating the "processes" in a restaurant kitchen.

As a former waitron at several restaurant establishments, I wholeheartedly agree.

I am never surprised to get food poisoning eating out, even at nicer restaurants. There are so many hands in the mix and bound to be some who don’t get washed properly or frequently enough and which also don’t fully grasp the rules of food safety.

Luckily for the most healthy youth and adults it just means a day or two feeling off and having yucky emissions. For the younger and older and more immune vulnerable, it can mean life threatening illness.

[Anonymous]

It’s a good idea to wash your hands if you’ve handled raw meat, especially chicken or ground meat.

But you’re much more likely to get sick from someone touching themselves and then food.

For the steak, you would have to imagine that there was an illness causing pathogen on the surface of the steak that would transfer to the hand, to the spatula, and then back into the finished food in a quantity that would make you sick. I guess that’s not impossible? But I wouldn’t sweat it.

[Anonymous]

Omg, I’ve always been paranoid about raw meat. Nothing that has touched raw meat touches anything else without being washed. Then nothing else goes in the sink until the sink has been scrubbed. The countertop gets sprayed with disinfectant. The utensil I’m using gets washed in between touching raw meat and touching the fully cooked meat. Raw meat never touches a plate. If it has to touch a cutting board, the cutting board has to be non porous.

I think the food prepared on tv shows often goes uneaten and is basically a prop and if not, they’ve edited out handwashing. For a tv show, a cook can be sloppy about touching things with contaminated hands because some crew member is going to clean everything up afterwards. It’s a set, so the cook’s child isn’t going to wander into the kitchen to get a snack and touch contaminated items.

[Anonymous]

I wash my hands before and after handling raw meat. Do I always wash my hands before grabbing a spice, pan, oil, etc? No. I may rinse them but sometimes not even that. No one is licking the spice jar and the pan goes in the oven. I am the furthest thing from a germaphobe. I wash my hands when I’m done and the cutting board goes in the dishwasher. I wipe down the counter when I remember. No one in my family has ever gotten sick from eating at home.

My hands are dry enough as it is with normal washing.

[Anonymous]

I do the same OP, but I get really dry patches in the winter on my hands so I use those disposable kitchen gloves and toss after handling meat, when I can to cut down on how much I need to wash.

[Anonymous]

I wash my hands immediately after touching raw meat and before touching other things. But I sometimes forget to go back and wipe the sink handles or soap bottle.

[Anonymous]

A chef’s show kitchen is not the same as a home kitchen. I also assume that they have a cleaning crew that comes and cleans all after the filming is done.

I also wash my hands after handing raw meats, but I don’t feel like I am constantly washing. I tend to prepare all the items / ingredients I need, handle raw meat, wash hands, add all other ingredients, … so 2-3 times at most during the process.

[Anonymous]

I wear disposable gloves

[Anonymous]

Yes, you wash your hands immediately after touching food that needs cooking.

Worst germ place is often spice jars.

I wear gloves and wash my hands. And wash utensils after they touch raw meat at beginning of meal prep. So I use new utensils for cooked food.

I’ve seen people put BBQed food back on plate they brought raw meat out in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m not a germophobe, just hygienic. I’m constantly washing my hands, utensils and wiping down the counter when I handle raw meat, fish, and poultry.

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wear disposable gloves

+1000

[Anonymous]

I do wash my hands after any contact with raw meat. But I use tongs to avoid having to touch it a lot. I also use disinfecting wipes on the counter if any raw meat comes into contact accidentally.

Now, my mom will literally cut raw chicken on a cutting board and then cut an apple with the same knife. And she NEVER gets food poisoning. So, do with that what you will.