Kitchen wipes fight food poisoning

Cleaning up with kitchen wipes can cut the chance of getting food poisoning by an astonishing 99.2 per cent. According to a recent study, using antibacterial wipes doesn’t just help get rid of the bacteria already lurking on a surface; it also provides an antibacterial coating that can continue to disinfect.

Dr Gerardo Lopez from the University of Arizona tested the effects of antibacterial wipes on common bench materials such as, granite, tile and laminate. The results were studied together with information gathered from earlier experiments that looked at the transfer rate of bacteria between hands, surfaces and eventually the mouth.

Dr Lopez found that the surfaces cleaned using an antibacterial kitchen wipe reduced the annual risk of getting a campylobacter infection from 20 per cent to just 0.2 per cent. As one of the most common causes of food poisoning, campylobacter bacteria is primarily found on raw and undercooked poultry and can cause vomiting, diarrhoea, fever and abdominal pain.

Keep your family safe

Although this study just focussed on campylobacter bacteria, it is reportedly likely that the antibacterial wipes would also reduce the risk of getting food poisoning from other harmful bacteria, such as salmonella or E. coli.

It was also reported that using the kitchen wipes on all surfaces and equipment after cooking, for example stove tops or sink taps, can help further cut the number of harmful bacteria in the kitchen. As a campylobacter infection needs a very small number of actual bacteria, having a clean and sanitary cooking environment can help reduce the spread of bacteria from surfaces to hands and eventually the mouth.

Throw out that cloth

Another way that people can reduce the amount of harmful bacteria in their kitchen is to stop using the same cleaning cloth for different tasks. Using disposable wipes or just plain paper towel will greatly drop the risk of accidentally getting food poisoning. Dr Lopez’s full study has been published in the Society for Applied Microbiology’s Journal of Applied Microbiology.