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Cooking At Home To Avoid Food Borne Illnesses? Use These Design Ideas To Minimize Your Family's Risk

by Toni Gonzalez

Recent news stories about a popular chain restaurant's struggle to deal with contaminated food and the resulting food borne illnesses of many of their patrons have caused many Americans to make changes in the way they feed their families. Many of these families are making the choice to cook at home more often and many of these are also making changes in the design of their kitchens to make them more user friendly for preparing family meals. If your family is one of the ones who have decided to cook at home more often, you should know that there are some kitchen design ideas that will reduce the potential for bacteria and add an even higher level of protection against common food borne illnesses.

Create dedicated food preparation areas

One of the most common causes of food borne illnesses in both restaurants and the home is cross contamination. Because of this, it makes sense to incorporate simple changes in your kitchen that will allow you to create dedicated areas for preparing certain foods.

For instance, areas where vegetables are to be washed and prepped will be easier to keep free of harmful bacteria if the cross contamination risks are reduced by providing a dedicated vegetable prep area complete with its own sink. Another example is to create a dedicated area for baking, so that bread or pastry dough is never kneaded or prepped for baking on a surface that might have been used when preparing raw meat.

Eliminate seams and crevices

Nearly every food, no matter how healthfully it is grown or produced, can harbor bacteria that can result in food borne illnesses. Most of this bacteria is rendered harmless through washing, cooking or other prepping actions and will not cause illness in whoever consumes it.

However, if some of this bacteria is captured and allowed to remain in or on the food preparation's areas seams or surfaces, it can grow quickly and contaminate cooking utensils and other foods without warning. To eliminate this potentially serious cross contamination problem, homeowners should choose solid surface counter tops that minimize or eliminate the need for seams, particularly around sinks and in any areas where foods will be prepared.

If you would like to incorporate even more food safety features into your kitchen, consider consulting with an interior designer who specializes in creating kitchens that allow families to enjoy food preparation chores. They will have helpful information about solid surface counters and many other products that will help you make your kitchen safer and more beautiful, as well. To learn more, contact a company like Plastic Line Mfg Inc.

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