Re: How long can Salmonella and/or Ecoli survive on Kitchen surfaces?

Salmonella species and E. coli generally arrive in our kitchens aboard raw animal foods. Raw meat and poultry are important sources; raw eggs are probably not, and pasteurized milk is unlikely to contain either. We now know that some other raw foods (e.g., sprouts) can also carry these bacteria at levels high enough to cause consumer illnesses, but perhaps not high enough to contaminate the kitchen.

OK, so you open a package of something raw from the butcher department, and there's loose juice in the package. Most of the time, there won't be Salmonella or E. coli in the package; but if there is, it will be in that juice and anything it touches — probably starting with your hands. I would run as much of the loose juice as possible directly down the sink drain. I roll up the packaging material and put it into a plastic trash bag, allowing as little opportunity a possible for it to drip on anything else.

Then, I do what preparation work is necessary: cutting up, marination, installing in the final cooking container. I do not wash the chicken or meat because the bacteria on the outside, which will be killed in cooking, get scattered around the kitchen that way as "aerosols." The important thing is to minimize splash. While the meat or chicken is cooking on the stove or in the oven, I clean up after myself.

Work surfaces and utensils can be cleaned with hot water and liquid dish detergent. If I clean porcelain surfaces with scouring powder, I will be using one that has bleach in it, but I'm not keen on many of the other disinfectant products that are offered for kitchen use. Things that can go into the dishwasher should go there, but there is nothing wrong with washing utensils by hand, if they need to be used before a dishwasher run will return them to service. Work surfaces on which the juice dries may hold live Salmonella or E. coli for days — they die off to some extent while drying, but a portion will stay alive for a long time. I prefer wooden to plastic cutting boards, but there are honest differences of opinion over this. Cellulose sponges can be rinsed with tap water and then microwaved for about a minute to decontaminate them.

For cooking on the grill (i.e., outdoors), it is important to be extra careful of things — trays, utensils, marinade — that have been in contact with the raw meat. There is a temptation to re-use these things in order to save trips back to the kitchen. Don't put the cooked food, or other foods that will not be cooked, in contact with these items. And resist the urge to use leftover marinade as a sauce when serving the cooked food; it's probably OK if you boil it first.

Finally, the most dangerous means of cross-contamination in the kitchen are probably hands. They need to be washed often, and especially after handling raw meat or poultry. I think any soap or hand washing preparation that is kind enough to your skin to be used often is what is needed; disinfectants are not that helpful and may irritate the skin. And if you've been wiping your hands on an apron or cloth, change it.