How Safe is Your Home Kitchen?

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Updated: 5:43 PM Sep 8, 2010 How Safe is Your Home Kitchen? Some people enjoy cooking meals in their home kitchens, instead of dining out. But would your kitchen pass a restaurant health inspection? A new study reveals that most homes wouldn't make the cut. Posted: 4:36 PM Sep 8, 2010 Reporter: Casey O'Halloran Email Address: Casey.OHalloran@wsaw.com

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87 million cases of food-borne illnesses occur in the U.S. each year. And experts believe the bulk of food poisonings are from food prepared at home.

New research suggests that at least 1 in 7 home kitchens would flunk the kind of health inspection that happens at restaurant.

Some of the safety mistakes are very basic, yet people forget to do them in their own homes.

The most common source of illness comes from cross contaminating foods. Linda Bastable is a Family Consumer Science teacher at Wausau East High School. She says, "Really keep in mind not to cross contaminate food if you're preparing meat. Prepare meat on its own cutting board, its own surface. Making sure you are washing the surface, cutting board, and dishes that you use for raw meats."

She says you should clean the kitchen counters with hot soap and water before you start cooking anything.

And definitely wash fruits and veggies before you use them. Most people forget this simple step, and end up spreading the bacteria and germs from the produce onto their plates.

So it's smart to incorporate these tips into your kitchen, but you still might want to think twice next time you accept a dinner invitation.

Food poisoning can also happen when you leave food out for too long.

Make sure to put food back in the fridge or freezer to keep it from spoiling quickly.

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