Rinsing Raw Chicken Under Water
In a 2022 survey of 1,822 consumers in the US, 73 percent of respondents said they washed their raw poultry. That number should alarm you. Washing chicken spreads bacteria throughout your kitchen, increasing the risk of foodborne illness. When you turn on the faucet over raw chicken, water droplets carrying Salmonella or Campylobacter can travel up to three feet in every direction.
Of those who washed the chicken before cooking it, 60% were found to have left a trail of bacteria in the sinks and surrounding areas. Even worse, 26% of salads prepared in test kitchens where participants washed raw chicken were contaminated with bacteria from the raw chicken. Here’s the thing: cooking your chicken to the proper temperature kills all those bacteria anyway. Cooking the chicken to 165 °F using a digital food thermometer will kill any dangerous bacteria.
Using the Same Cutting Board for Everything
In over 50% of the kitchens observed, chopping boards were reused for different foods without proper washing in between, significantly increasing cross-contamination risks. Think about what happens when you slice raw chicken, rinse the board quickly, then chop vegetables for a salad. Those invisible bacteria just hitched a ride onto food that won’t be cooked.
Approximately 10,000 to 100,000 CFU of bacteria per gram were transferred to lettuce and cucumbers after cutting boards had been used for raw meat. The solution sounds simple but requires discipline. Consider using one cutting board for fresh produce and bread and a separate one for raw meat, poultry, and seafood to prevent bacteria from contaminating food that requires no further cooking. Color-coded boards make this easier to remember.
Trusting Your Kitchen Sponge
Let’s be real, your kitchen sponge is probably the dirtiest thing in your house right now. After two weeks of use, a sponge can have around 8 million bacteria. German researchers studying used kitchen sponges found something shocking: 362 different species of bacteria in sponges, and 45 billion bacteria per square centimeter.
The worst part? Sponges that had been regularly sanitized teemed with a higher percentage of bacteria related to pathogens than sponges that had never been cleaned. Microwaving or boiling your sponge doesn’t solve the problem because resistant bacteria just recolonize the empty spaces. The study recommends that people replace sponges weekly to reduce bacteria risk. It sounds extreme, but when you realize that wiping your counters with that sponge is essentially painting bacteria across every surface, weekly replacement makes perfect sense.
Skipping Proper Handwashing
A 2023 study by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service revealed that improper handwashing was rampant, with participants washing their hands incorrectly 97% of the time. That statistic is honestly staggering. Most people either skip handwashing entirely or do such a rushed job that it accomplishes nothing.
Handwashing was not attempted 83% of the time when it should have been done, such as after touching raw sausage and unwashed cantaloupe, cracking eggs, or touching contaminated equipment or surfaces. When people did wash their hands, 96% of handwashing attempts did not contain all necessary steps. The research also revealed that 48% of participants who didn’t wash their hands adequately transferred bacteria to spice containers. Those are the jars you touch every time you cook, creating an endless cycle of contamination.
Storing Food at Wrong Temperatures
Approximately 60% of households were found to store food at incorrect temperatures, fostering an environment conducive to bacterial growth. Your refrigerator might feel cold, but unless it’s actually at the proper temperature, bacteria are still multiplying on your leftovers. Average refrigerator and freezer temperatures were higher than recommendations.
The danger zone for bacterial growth sits between 40°F and 140°F. If your fridge hovers above 40°F, you’re basically providing a bacteria breeding ground. Many people never check their fridge temperature or adjust it seasonally. Food left out on counters poses an even greater risk, yet 75% of participants admitted to consuming food past its use-by date, risking foodborne illnesses. That container of chicken from three days ago sitting at room temperature for two hours? Yeah, that’s a one-way ticket to food poisoning.
Relying on Visual Cues Instead of Thermometers
A UC Davis study found that 40% of home cooks undercook their chicken when relying on appearance alone. Chicken can look perfectly cooked on the outside while the center remains a dangerous temperature where bacteria thrive. That pinkness test your grandmother taught you? Completely unreliable.
In a study, 50% of participants used a food thermometer to check the doneness of sausage patties, but 50% of those participants did not check all the patties with a food thermometer. Color, texture, and cooking time vary too much to guess safely. A reliable instant-read thermometer costs less than ordering takeout once, yet most home kitchens don’t have one. Professional chefs never rely on guesswork, and neither should you if you want to avoid spending a miserable night with food poisoning.
These six habits might seem harmless or even intuitive, but they’re responsible for countless cases of foodborne illness every year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that approximately 48 million people in the U.S. suffer from foodborne illness annually, with around 128,000 of those cases requiring hospitalization. Small changes in your kitchen routine can dramatically reduce your risk. Stop washing that chicken, invest in separate cutting boards, replace your sponge weekly, wash your hands properly, check your fridge temperature, and buy a thermometer. Your stomach will thank you.
