In an NC State University study, one quarter of participants contaminated salad with raw chicken, highlighting the risks of not understanding hand washing, cleaning and sanitizing the kitchen, and washing poultry. The study was conducted to assess the impact of washing poultry on kitchen contamination, but found that participants who did not wash poultry still contaminated salad. The study was published in the International Association for Food Production. Washing raw poultry is not recommended because the researchers thought that water from rinsing the chicken would splash and spread around the kitchen. This practice can also contaminate the kitchen sink, other foods, and other surfaces, which increase the risk of foodborne illness. Ellen Shumaker, corresponding author of the … [Read more...]
New Study Finds Indoor Dust Bacteria Can Be Antibiotic Resistant
Did you know that dust in your house may be housing antibiotic resistant bacteria? A study conducted at Northwestern University has shown that indoor dust bacteria have transferable antibiotic resistance genes. That means the bacteria living in household dust can spread antibiotic resistant genes to other bacteria. Most of these bacteria are not harmful to people, but researchers think these genes could spread to pathogens such as E. coli of Salmonella. Antibiotic resistance in these bacteria can make human infections more difficult to treat. Erica Hartmann, an assistant professor of environmental engineering in Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering, who led the study, said in a statement, "This evidence, in and of itself, doesn’t mean that antibiotic resistance is … [Read more...]
