The humble kitchen towels used for multi-purpose tasks can put your households at potential risk of bacteria that cause food poisoning, say researchers.<\/p>\n
The findings showed that the towels used for wiping utensils, drying hands, holding hot utensils, wiping\/cleaning surfaces, had a higher bacterial count.<\/p>\n
Coliforms was found to be higher in humid towels, multipurpose towels and in towels from families having non-vegetarian diets.<\/p>\n
The presence of these potential pathogens from the kitchen towels indicates that they could be responsible for cross-contamination in the kitchen and could lead to food poisoning, the researchers said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur study demonstrates that the family composition and hygienic practices in the kitchen affected the microbial load of kitchen towels,\u201d said lead author Susheela D. Biranjia-Hurdoyal, senior lecturer, at the University of Mauritius.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also found that diet, type of use and moist kitchen towels could be very important in promoting the growth of potential pathogens responsible for food poisoning,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Further, S. aureus was isolated at a higher rate from families of lower socio-economic status and those with children.<\/p>\n
Coliform and S. aureus were detected at significantly higher prevalence from families with non-vegetarian diets.<\/p>\n
Escherichia coli is a normal flora of human intestine and it is released in large numbers in human feces. The presence of Escherichia coli indicates possible fecal contamination and lack of hygiene practices.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe data indicated that unhygienic practices while handling non-vegetarian food could be common in the kitchen,\u201d Biranjia-Hurdoyal said.<\/p>\n
For the study, presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Georgia, the team collected a total of 100 kitchen towels after one month of use.<\/p>\n
Out of these 49 per cent had bacterial growth which increased in number with extended family, presence on children and increasing family size.<\/p>\n
Out of these 49 samples positive for bacterial growth, 36.7 per cent grew coliforms, 36.7 per cent Enterococcus spp and 14.3 per cent S. aureus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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