I've never had a problem touching raw meat. And I've never used cutting sheets. And we haven't died yet. LOL!

Seriously, some people probably aren't comfortable working with poultry. I just figure people have been killing, cutting and cooking birds for a long time, so I can, too. I worry more about contamination in restaurants than I do at home.

I have no problem touching raw meat. I had no problem eating either (steak tartareÂyum!) before contamination issues arose.

I got a serious case of salmonella years ago from eating undercooked beef liver. Haven't touched it again, literally or figurtively.

I might have not made my intent clear with the gloves. I've been cutting up raw meat for decades--and it doesn't really bother me to touch raw meat in that sense. But wearing the gloves is just SO much more convenient--you don't get all the gunk stuck under your nails, you don't have grease clinging to your hands that you have to scrub off. You wouldn't believe how much simpler it is just to pull the gloves off and toss them.

I basically use them for convenience, myself. But having taught a lot of cooking classes, know that there are a lot of folks out there who do object to handling raw meat of any kind.

And they're good for other things, too--I often grab a pair for cleaning, or when I polish my shoes.

I just wash my hands.

I eat raw steak but not any other kind of meat.

I do a lot of very dirty chores on a daily basis, and handle wild animals. I don't worry about any of it. I think it keeps my immune system tweaked. I haven't had as much of a cold in at least 10 years.

I like to use the disposable gloves when transplanting seedlings. You still have the "feel" without all the dirt under your nails, etc.

I should add that I buy boxes of disposable gloves at Sam's Club and use them for a lot of other things (including cleaning up after my two elderly dogs).

I have concerns for cross-contamination in the kitchen. I like the idea of gloves and disposable cutting boards.

I don't like to mix meatloaf with my bare-hands. I might add: If you don't wash your hands with anti-bacterial soap and use a nail brush, don't ask me to dinner.

Gayle

I have never used gloves either. I just wash my hands after handling raw meat.

My kids school use to have a snack schedule for each child/parent. When it was you turn to bring snack you would bring enough for the class. Just recently they stopped doing snack that way. They dont want too many kids handling the food as its being past out. Kids now bring their own snacks everyday. When it is a childs birthday and the parent brings in cupcakes, the teacher wears gloves to hand out the cupcakes. I think that has gone alittle too far. What happened to hand washing before snack time? Oh well! My kids prefer the snacks that i send anyways. They are very picky eatters and i can provide healthier snacks.

I was my hands constantly while handling food of any kind, even cookie dough, etc. My problem is I go through papertowels like gangbusters. I like to dry my hands on them.

I have been cooking for a very long time. I have never done anything more than washing my hands and using common sense.
I do not wear gloves, nor am I using a special cutting mat for this or that.
I haven't killed anyone yet, or even made them sick.
I never get sick either.
I think a little common sense goes a long way.
A few germs never hurt anyone and I just think your body needs some to build an immune system.
Gayle, I'm curious, do you actually ask people if they wash their hands with anti-bacterial soap and use a nail brush if they have asked you over for dinner?

It is very important to wash your hands with soap and water after handling raw meat. I do however have a problem with the increased and I believe over-use of anti-bacterial soaps and gels etc. An anti-bacterial soap is non selective. I mean it kills all bacteria, good and bad. We all have bacteria on our bodies. That is how we fight bad germs. So when you use those anti-bacterial products you wash away all the good bacteria along with the bad. I'm not saying there is no use for these products just that I think some people get carried away with them. Don't make yourself suseptible to bad germs by being germaphobic.
Plain old soap and hot water will take care of the everyday germs you want to get rid of. And just use common sense in your kitchens.
The deli gloves are good idea. Then I wouldn't have to take off my rings and risk losing them! We sell those at work. I'll have to pick up a box.

I have no problem with handling raw meat with my bare hands. I just really wash my hands and nails with a nail brush and soap afterwards. I grew up on a chicken farm where we butched and prepared a chicken every Sunday. I had to help clean out the insides and pluck the chicken, also bare handed. When I grew up I didn't eat chicken for 20 years, but that is another story.
Clare

We didn't have a chicken farm, but we bought them live (years ago) and when it was time to pluck them, I always helped mother. I won't go into detail to spare those with a weak stomach, but helping never deterred my love for her fried chicken.

I wash my hands a lot while handling meat. But I don't worry a whole lot about salmonella. The meat's cold and gets cooked thoroughly. I do use Dawn antibacterial dish soap, though. When I found out they use it to clean oil slicks off birds, that was enough to sell me.

I have a magnet on my fridge that says:

Many people have eaten in this kitchen. . .and gone on to lead normal, healthy lives.

I constantly rinse my hands when I'm cooking, but only because I don't like the "feel" of anything on them. Don't feel the necessity of antibacterial soaps, and I don't have colds, etc.

I have 2-3 of those big bottles of Antimicrobacterial alcohol wipes that came home with me from being in the hospital (colon surgery and later knee replacement). I keep some of those in a zip lock bag in the car to wipe my hands after pumping gas, but not because of the germ thing.

Common sense and logic goes a long way in most situations.

Sue

Patti, I use Dawn for the same reason...because it is used to clean birds and mammals contaminated by oil slicks. They donate it for a good cause, and that is why I buy it.

I use my yellow playtex gloves in the kitchen. For everything. And always have hot, soapy, bleach water in the sink for washing (gloved) hands, cutting board, utensils and bowls/dishes as I'm getting done with them.

You know what? That's a really good, simple idea and I had never thought of it.

It doesn't bother me to touch raw meat, but it's so tedious to clean my hands thoroughly afterward and, like jannie, I waste a lot of paper towels drying them.

I can get a box of the disposables or maybe use rubber gloves and pop them in the diswasher afterward.

doesn't bother me to handle raw meat/poultry but I do occasionally use the disposable gloves,depending on what I'm handling,only because I don't like stuff under my fingernails.I also use them when preparing Jalapeno peppers.Anyway,I feel the same as most here,just wash frequently with soap and warm water and I do dry with paper towels.We go through a lot of paper towels! I know,probably not good for the environment,but I guess we can't all be perfect.LOL
"When it is a childs birthday and the parent brings in cupcakes, the teacher wears gloves to hand out the cupcakes."
I had to laugh at that.Does that teacher know what kind of kitchen those cupcakes came from or what they have come in contact with before they got to the classroom? A little over the top I think.That's like the fast food place where the preparer wears plastic gloves but touches every surface and utensil that everyone else has touched while preparing your food!
Gayle-I'm curious about that too. Do you ask the person before you accept the invitation? LOL You know the heat from cooking that meat loaf would kill anything harmful?
I just don't worry about things like that as long as it is cooked thoroughly.

Actually, thorough cooking is NOT a complete guarantee of safety. Yes, adequate cooking kills live organisms that may be in food. But it does NOT eliminate the toxins they may leave behind--which can also be dangerous. And there are things--like mad cow disease (and related disorders) that are not affected by heat at all--the food is just as dangerous after cooking as it was before, in those cases.

Cooked food is safer than raw, but not always 100% risk free.

But that's really off topic. Just wanted to make sure that anyone who wanted to follow my turkey cooking suggestion had an alternative way to do so, if they were bothered by raw meat, as many are (although lots don't like to admit it).

LOL! My friend Debbie is worse than me and yes She would ask "Did you wear gloves". No I wouldn't ask....

But, I went to a Bar-B-Q Place and watched the guy cut the meat and make the Sandwich. He had filthy fingernails and a bloody apron. No gloves. When he handed me the Sandwich, I just said "never mind" and left.

I was a houseparent of MI/MR Patients several years ago and we had a very rigid guide line to prevent cross-contamination in the kitchen. I guess that is why I am like that.

Gayle

I use gloves to cut up peppers so I don't get burned and sometimes to handle meat, but only because I have a medical excuse, not because I don't like to touch meat. I can't get my hands wet too often or they break out. I will sometimes use gloves to wash dishes, too, but mostly Woody washes and I dry.

Just found this about anti-bacterial soaps-

"According to the Mayo Clinic and the FDA, antibacterial soaps DO offer greater protection than regular soaps, but only in one particular instance.

That is: if you have an open cut or sore that could become infected.

Therefore, antibacterial soaps are useful in hospital and school environments, however, they may do more harm than good when used in normal, healthy households.

In reality, regular soap does the job just fine, because it is the combination of scrubbing your hands with ANY kind of soap (antibacterial or regular) and rinsing them with water that actually loosens and removes the bacteria.

The truth is, people who are buying up all the antibaterial products are doing so because they think they're being extra cautious and protecting themselves from disease or infection.

But what they don't realize is that most of the infections people get are of the cold, flu and diarrhea variety -- and those are caused by viruses NOT bacteria!"

I don't think we have a single bit of anti-bacterial soap in the house. Our pediatrician friends don't tout it, either. Also, anti-bacterial soap usage may be making certain bacteria stronger and more resistant to drugs, which is not a good thing.

Remember how antibiotics were supposed to get rid of all of those problems?

But - they resulted in tougher, more innovative bacteria.

And the bacteria eventually win ... while each antibiotic loses its effectiveness, over time.

Also ... remember Smokey the Bear, who helped us all prevent forest fires?

Then, after a number of years, all of those "prevented forest fires" resulted in a build-up of trash, leaves, twigs and deadfalls on the forest floor.

Then a forest fire came along, whether started by some benighted person, or a cigarette, or lightning ... and all of that extra stored-up fuel meant that it became a huge, killer forest fire. Such major fires cover wide areas, causing much destruction, huge amounts of losses, loss of wildlife, evacuated homes, even some deaths.

Sometimes today's apparent answer develops into tomorrow's larger problem.

ole joyful