Nope. I spray the counter with a cleaner before making bread, but everything else is prepped on cutting boards, plates etc. I don't want to scratch the counter with a knife.

Washing produce is to rid it of pesticides, unless you know the tree it came from as Moni. We were just given a basket of pears from our landlord's tree. No sprays or pesticides used there.

Common sense prevails when prepping chicken. I get everything out that I need before I start and use my wrists to turn on the water to wash my hands.

I'm feeding the cats a raw diet for the most part. Canned and raw food. Their dishes, knives, containers and my hands get washed thoroughly.

Let us walk through a scenario.

It is mid-evening and you have been watching some TV. There is a throbbing need for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Next commercial, to the kitchen.

Of course you wash your hands before you begin and then wipe them on that towel that is hanging there. Plate on the counter, bread removed from the bag and placed on the plate. Peanut butter out (I gotta have crunchy, smooth is for baking!) and the jelly/preserves/jam retrieved from the fridge. Knife from the drawer and put it all together. Put the knife in the sink or into the dishwasher and wipe away any spilled bread crumbs. Gotta remember to get a glass of milk. Back to the TV and one of their 4 minute commercials is just ending. Sit and enjoy.

What is wrong with this? Too many things. If you wipe your hands on that towel as others have done, you are highly likely to have negated the situation of getting your hands clean. That bread package, where was it? Was that a clean place? Stuff on your hands that you use to get the bread from the package! Peanut butter jar and jelly jar. Both have been stored in a location that is not spotless (unless you scrub your shelves every day). Dirty hands again.

Wait! Did you use only one knife? Ah, you might have rinsed it in the sink (sanitation standards for restaurants require water that is 160 degrees). You might have wiped off the knife after that quick rinse before spreading the jelly, how clean was that towel? Or maybe you cross-contaminated that knife by going from the peanut butter directly to the jelly.

Pick up that milk carton that you bought from the store that came off the milk truck that came from the milk processing plant and pour. OK! You are done and those commercials are just finishing. Back to the TV and you begin to eat your sandwich using your dirty hands (remember the milk carton, the jelly jar, the peanut butter jar?).

At that point, what does it matter that you put the bread on a plate and not the counter. You have cross-contaminated your hands and utensil. You have not done it correctly. Consider whether that counter-top is really the bad thing you believe it might be.

One is more likely to have problems with re-heating leftover food, getting to the correct temperature before serving. Or maybe that food was not properly cooled before refrigerating it. That could create more of a problem than putting the bread directly on the counter-top. Proper sanitation also demands that you do not re-heat re-heated food. You will have crossed that zone of temperatures that create problems with all kinds of things that grow.

I never put food directly on the kitchen counter mainly because that is what my mother did. I have never paid attention as to what others do, guess I will start paying attention.

Safest is a wood cutting board. Wood is naturally antimicrobial. I also would not prepare food directly on a counter.

Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

I am NOT a germophobe. I usually use a plate, papertowel, or cutting board if I am dealing with food just to keep the counter clean. I make homemade bread directly on the counter, but I wash the surface before I do it. I'll eat food I've dropped on a counter. I really don't get excited about germs. I am more careful with raw meat, but most anything everything else isn't that big of a deal. I'd rather build some immunity.

It seems a factor is how clean the counters are. My counters hold all sorts of stuff including my purse which has been on the floor in public bathrooms on occasion when there isn't a hook. My cats, who are not allowed on the counters, still do it sometimes when we aren't looking.

Someone who washes their counters multiple times a day, doesn't have pets and doesn't put other objects on it probably has much cleaner counters than I do.

For me personally, my ick factor is the meat and vegi contaminants, not germs; the exception being my purse which many shows on this topic have shown is a nasty thing to put on any counter or table we eat from. I keep mine away from the kitchen always. But the needs of my DH are different as his immune system is weak from chemo. Yes, obviously the things we buy or handle get dirty, however, as rule of thumb, when we enter the kitchen, the first thing we do is wash our hands. We dry with paper towels and this helps to keep him at less risk. We have a counter next to the fridge that is inconvenient for cooking but perfect for him to have his own coffee station and space to do what he needs to do. He keeps a big bottle of sanitizer there and uses it frequently. He still never puts food directly on the counter and his counter is never used for prep work. These types of precautions (and similar precautions at work and in public) I believe have been key for him as he's not had a cold or the flu in at least two years. (I say this while frantically knocking on wood) :c)

Contrary to what was posted above - stainless steel counters are the safest. They are completely non-porous; and if you use a sanitized cloth to wipe after your work, it will be rare that problems will occur. Ever see a restaurant's kitchen? They do not use wood that might absorb meat juices when carving; one cannot guaranty that any wood product would be cleaned enough afterwards to avoid problems. You should never put a wood product in the dishwasher or even soak it. That is not the way to treat wood!

True, those are commercial kitchens and have the health department scrutiny. But a lot of that should also be used in the home. Wipe your counters with a cloth that you rinse off at the sink faucet - nope! You must sanitize that cloth in a solution; or wash it at that high temperature. If you use a paper towel, then be sure to re-wash your hands. If the counter is truly not clean and you wipe with a paper towel, there is still a potential cross contamination from the counter to the towel to your hands. There also might be a problem with disposing of that paper towel. Do you use an open trash receptacle? If you don't use your foot to open the trash receptacle, again - wash your hands.

I never really thought about it before, but we always use a plate or cutting board, although I have pulled rolls from the freezer and set then naked on the counter before popping them onto the baking sheet. I am obsessed with food safety. Never, ever, ever eat fruits or veggies without washing them unless they came from your own yard.

My mother used her pull-out cutting board to prepare pretty much everything, because she had so little counter space. So yes, sandwiches, vegetables and raw meat, all. :) She wiped it down after she was done, every time, with a sponge. I do make a sandwich on a plate because I'm too aware of *other people* placing all and sundry on the counters and it bugs me. I wish I didn't care, but I'm a squeamish sort. I sure don't understand why so many people will plop a purse right down on the table or counter--ick!! That thing has been on many different floors. Cleaning up after raw meat or eggs is the only reason I use plenty of soap and hot water, otherwise it's just hot water on the cloth.

I'm so glad you admitted that your cats get on your counter Chi. I laugh when people say that their cats never get on the counter/table because they're not allowed to.

Ours aren't allowed to either, but they've got free rein all nite long while we're sleeping, and I know they've been up there. Because they can! I keep a bottle of homemade cleaner (ammonia, rubbing alcohol, vinegar, dishwashing liquid) under the sink for cleaning counters, the table etc.

I never prepare food on the counter....at the very least I use a paper towel.

I spy a myth that needs debunking. Pesticides aren't the only problem with commercial produce.....ALL homegrown fruits and veggies can carry a population of soil and/or air borne pathogens that can make us sick.

Some of these bacteria, fungi, amoeba, etc., are ubiquitous in soil and some can make humans sick. (All healthy soil is teeming with microorganisms; they are essential to plant growth. The pathogens are in there, too.)

I rinse everything off with the hose (a potable water hose) before bringing it inside to the sink. Then, it all gets soaked and rubbed in a vinegar/water solution, drained, rinsed in clean water, and drip-dried.

There have been numerous articles about the pro's and con's of antibacterial soaps and the dangers for people who today take "cleanliness" to an extreme level. I tend to agree that trying to over sanitize is not a good idea because it's those germs we bring into the kitchen through normal use that keep us from getting sick with some really bad stuff. No matter how hard you try, some cross contamination of germs in the kitchen is bound to happen and so it should for the sake of our own health.

Wood vs. Stainless....eh, they each have their pro's and con's. Jim wood cutting boards are a standard in most kitchens because they are affordable and antimicrobial. Just like a seasoned skillet only needs a good wiping after use, a wood cutting board can be safely cleaned for years on end with just a light washing of soap and water in the sink. They also do not wear the blade of your knife down which to someone who insists on a sharp knife when cooking is important. While it may not be porous and is easy to clean, stainless steel still requires disinfecting and many chefs if not all will still use a cutting board because the SS scratches up easily and can quickly ruin the blade of a good knife.

Indeed, Rhizo, I'm surprised that people don't wash their garden produce if for no other reason than bird poo, squirrel poo, cat poo, insect feet, bird feet, squirrel feet, cat feet...

The kind of extents Lukkiirish goes to to keep a compromised loved one safe is good. It is not good if everyone is healthy. Not to say you should put your food down on a dirty counter. Just that killing the easy to kill bacteria in a casual way makes the few hardy ones you didn't get more able to recolonize with stronger bugs.

Some observations: The counters are never kosher. Some may have a "way you do things" legacy of never putting food on the counter that starts there. (When people talk about kashering their counters, they're usually talking about for Passover, so they're free of leaven, which is entirely about ritual and doesn't have a health origin.)

Stainless steel counters can also be disinfected with a torch. And kashered for putting food right on them.

If you use plastic cutting boards, you should put them in the dishwasher regularly as they harbor bacteria.

When I lived abroad, the bread at the supermarkets and convenience stores, both, was put unwrapped, stacked whole on shelves. There was some questioning of this. The health department there said that if some disease were ever traced to people handling the unwrapped bread, they'd do something about it, but until then they had far more pressing concerns to cope with. It never happened. The bread is still sold without a wrapper (people bring their own bags for the ride home). OTOH, we have "sneeze guards" on our buffets lest we even breathe on the food.

Long ago I read an article that claimed a bachelor's kitchen counters are cleaner than those of Ms. Homemaker -- because Ms. Homemaker is forever wiping down her countertops with that *contaminated* sponge or dishcloth. The bachelor probably made his sandwiches directly on the countertop, too, and he didn't have three germ-y kids in the mix!

Bags of groceries coming into my kitchen go on the island. Then I wash my hands and put things away in fridge or cabinets. Bags get rinsed in the laundry sink if needed and I put them back in the car. Back to the sink to wash hands.

I don't *prepare* anything directly the countertop; use a plate or dish. I'm most picky about fish, poultry, meat, eggs -- wash sink and utensils with hot, soapy water after preparation. Use clean utensils to stir or turn what's cooking. My dishcloth gets replaced twice a day -- more, if necessary. Not picky about dry food being set briefly on the counter -- crackers, cookies. Cereal spilled on the counter goes back into the bowl.

I've known a woman who unloaded everything out of her car, washed every can and bottle in a sink in the garage, and put items into a clean container before entering the house -- after removing her shoes.

I always have a plate or a paper towel under any food. No way and I putting it on the counter.

That's like people pouring baby food on the high chair lid and let the kids eat off of it. I hope at least they are cleaning it first.

No food prep directly on the counter.

However, did I ever tell you the story about making hot dogs for my kids for lunch years ago. I noticed that one of my kids was picking at his bun, asked him what he was doing and he said he was picking all the blue parts off his bun because he didn't like the taste. Yep, he was picking off mold and yep, I guess I'm a bad mom. Oh well, they survived just as they survived drinking out of glasses that came out of the DW with dirt still on the bottom (hey, it's sterilized dirt is what I told them) and they survived playing in the rain without getting pneumonia.

I'm with catspa with regards to over-cleanliness, chicken (and maybe mold) notwithstanding.

I never prep food directly on the counter. If I make a sandwich it is always made on the plate. I don't wipe my counter with a sponge or use the same dish towel for everything. All my grocery bags stay on the floor while unpacking.

I don't consider myself a germaphobe, but all the sanitation rules and regulations that came along with owning and operating a restaurant for 42 years, I also follow at home.

plllog, funny you should mention that about the bread. There's a Russian store a few miles from us that bakes and stacks their authentic black Russian breads the way you describe. Occasionally, we will go there to get DH a few loaves, often times, they're still hot. When we go there, I feel like we've stepped back in time. I don't notice if they wear those little plastic hand gloves I see other places using, but the truth be told, I don't think those are sanitary or helpful either. I've literally stopped eating fast food or going to sandwich places because I see the kids behind the counters make a sandwich, leave them on, pull at their clothes, handle money, wipe their noses, push their hair back and so on, then go make another sandwich without changing the glove. That's just gross.

I use a cutting board, but not because my counters are unsanitary--they certainly ARE NOT, but because I do not want to damage them with sharp utensils used to prep said sandwich. For YEARS moms made everything on the butcher board counter tops..I have never heard of one case of illness or death linked back to counter tops. I am sooooo glad of all the issues one can have, being a germaphobe is not one of mine!! We are making our immune systems weak with all this germ fear. A little germ makes for new antibodies in the body!! The children that come for the most sterilized homes are the most ill their first year of school. Time to toughen up ladies!!!

This is a bit off-topic, but I gotta post this.

In every commercial kitchen where I worked (it has been more than 27 years now), there were two sets of knives. The knives were sharpened by a service and the swap made on a regular basis. One business was weekly and another was every three weeks. It depends on how you use the knives and how often you need it done. Stainless steel was easy to clean and that's what we had. We were not slamming the knives onto the work surface, but the hardness of the knife and the counter worked against each other.

Dull blades cut more hands and fingers than sharp blades. If you have a quality set of knives, get them sharpened on a regular basis.

I am not afraid of germs or worried I will get sick, but it grosses me out to think my hands or my grilled cheese could have feces residue on it from a variety of different sources, even though I know everything we touch has the same risk.

Some of my counters are epoxy resin lab tops, impervious to almost everything, and I still do not put food stuff that will be consumed without being peeled or washed, directly on the counters. No pets inside due to family members with allergies, and I'm picky about what items are placed on the counters--no purses or delivered packages, and nothing that's spent time on the floor, even though I have no qualms about blowing on something dry (cracker, peanut, hard candy), that I've dropped and immediately picked up, then eating it.

I try my best not to cross-contaminate utensils and foods, don't use sponges, and I microwave and air dry the dish scrubby. I pick my germs--the ones that have colonized my home are OK, other peoples' are not. :P

rhizo and plllog

I eat stuff right out of the yard. Peaches, figs, basil, strawberries, daylily blossoms and more.

I truly believe, a bit of "dirt" doesn't hurt you.

Until it's THAT bit of dirt, moni...lol.

I do the same thing all of the time, but it has to be rinsed off by the hose first.

I don't prep my food directly on the counter, but if some of it lands there, I don't throw it away. The counter will either have been cleaned already, or I will wash the item and then eat it. Greens do have a habit of extending longer than the area you are prepping them on!

I'm also with OklaMoni. If I pick something in the yard (raspberries, peas, whatever), I consider it safe to eat without washing it, so long as I do that before I get back in the house. Visible grit or the like is the exception. Then again, Mom always said, "You have to eat a peck of dirt before you die!" We are crippling our immune systems by going over-board.

However:

I'm a fanatic about washing my hands and any work surface around chicken!

Organic or not, every package of berries has a notice telling you to wash the fruit before eating. What am I supposedly removing from the berries by rinsing them under running water? Surely nobody is scrubbing every individual blueberry. Is this just a cute idea to make the fruit 'yours' -- like the frozen pie instructions that tell you to cut steam vents in the top crust (could just as easily be done in manufacture).

Organic growers use manures for fertilization, I believe.

I always rinse produce from the home garden. We have an army of critters which wander in the night and plow up the garden (skunks, opossums, etc.), snooping around for whatever. Also, it's a suburban setting with cars going by all day, so stirred up dust and exhaust is on the produce as well. I don't scrub it or soak it, just a quick rinse. Rinse water captured in the sink to be recycled outside.

I realized last night that for me it's more about avoiding cross contamination than germs, per se...as I licked the muffin spoon which batter has had eggs breeding in it in the fridge for weeks. :) My eggs are from a farm style grower, not a factory, and are less likely to have salmonella. And I'm fine. :) But I do try to keep from spreading them around the kitchen, just in case.

For the counter practice, I think it's more an issue of manners than of contamination. When alone, do as you like. When fixing food for others, doing that is tacky (to me). Just like nibbling from the food while you're preparing it in front of others

Blfenton, mom said that as a kid, I'd be out in the yard eating dirt with a spoon!

I don't prepare food directly on the counter because, like Jasdip, I have cats. A little dirt doesn't bother me, but I am turned off by the idea that a cat may have been in the litter box and jumped on the counter. No, I don't allow it, but like Jasdip said, they are cats.....when I am not here, they will do what they want to do. Even if they didn't get on the counter, the idea is repulsive to me. Here is something else I found repulsive...I was at my mother's neighbor's house and she was frying chicken. She took the flour she breaded the chicken with and dumped it back in the flour canister. I nearly had a heart attack. She said it wasn't a big deal because they use it up quickly and the hot oil kills the germs. SMH!!!

This gets into another issue. I have a friend who when she visits always leaves the toilet seat UP. She gets annoyed when I tell her I hate that, and that I hate that my cats will drink out of the bowl, and then jump up on a bathroom counter -- where toothbrushes are waiting -- there was a point about ten years ago or so I considered her as a housemate, but this was the one trait that truly nixed the deal.

OH Marilyn!!!! I can't believe anyone would re-use chicken flour!!!! There's a limit to thriftiness!

Making a sandwich on the counter is something I might do for myself...but not company. I never have pets in the house so I do not have to worry about pet hair.....gross to think about it in food! As for wiping the counters with a sponge...tests show those have more germs than a toilet seat...so the next time, think about that. As for cleaning counters, I use soap and water....some of those cleaners have too many chemicals.

Well this thread is getting to be a great help for those of us on a diet! Reading it makes me loose my appetite fast! LOL YUK!!!! some of the things people do are just plain gross!!!

Wow, the story about the chicken flour is crazy! Now I never want to eat at another potluck dinner! There's no telling what they do in their kitchens that I would find repulsive!

I guess I'm kind of weird, but dog hair doesn't gross me out but don't even let me see a human hair dangling loose if I'm eating, I will almost lose it! I will literally gag! I know, that's weird! HA!

My mother was really picky about eating food prepared at someone else's house. I had a tendency to be that way too...but I got over it....for the most part. Another yucky thing I saw someone do.....was visiting a friend, along with a couple of other friends, and she had made some soup and asked us if we wanted some. We said yes...she had fed her kids previously and she took the soup left over in their bowls and poured it back in the pot. I would rather eat after my cat than eat after someone else's kid.

OK that's just gross.

says she who feeds her kids moldy buns - but inadvertently, not deliberately.

Marilyn, yuck.

I live alone, and I have different, more severe, standards for what I will serve to others, either in home or brought to a pot luck.

In any case, I always use paper towels instead of the dish towel - the latter hangs out for pretty, and has sometimes been used when I want to pull something hot out of the oven and only one oven mitt is handy. I use scrubbies rather than cloth to wash with. This is in all cases, even if just for me.

Something on the counter for a moment is fine if it's for me. If it is to share -- nope. And my hands get washed every few seconds it seems -- if it's to share. And I'll never serve others food that I've put back from something I've prepared earlier for myself.

I have shared unwashed raspberries with co-workers from my garden -- but I tell them to rinse them just before eating -- too far in advance, and they tend to disintegrate.

I keep folded, clean kitchen towels (flour sacks) on the counters in my kitchen -- one under the coffee prep area to catch drips, one to the side of the sink to catch drips and for drying stuff and one on my main food prep area. The "food prep" one is changed daily. of course I also wash the counters, and use paper towels, plates, cutting boards, etc. on top of them, for most actual food prep, but the towels are just extra insurance. It's a system that works for me.

I always use a cutting board or plate, but if a knife is involved, it's a cutting board. I can't stand scratches on plates. We feed the cats on one end of the counter and they jump to the island to scrounge. And I'm not a germaphobe, you can't be when you have pets. Cripes, I found a 60# dog on the counter once, eating the cats' food!

Oh wow, Flamey! I thought I was the only one that fed my cats on the counter. Like yours, mine eat at the opposite end of where I have my coffee pot and do most of my cooking. It works for us.

I'm far from a germophobe, regular soap and water works for wiping the counter etc from daily preparations. '

But when I'm making bread, the counter gets a good dose of cleaner, because I'm rolling and kneading directly on the counter. Other than that, I don't panic at all. Cat hair doesn't freak me out, it can't. They do get on the stove (stray hairs) and on the sink counter to the window at nite, while we're sleeping, or eating the now-extinct hanging plant.

Charlee, it's the only way to keep the dogs from eating all their food, usually. There's a container of Clorox wipes right there, too. I use those all the time.

When cooking, even for myself, I won't stir the pot with a spoon that's been used for tasting--what if a family member or a neighbor came in when I was getting ready to eat? How could I offer to share? Drives me crazy when I see that on a TV show--when someone tastes the soup and then stirs it with the same spoon.

When I took a HomeEc. class, back in the day, we were told that if we were found to have tasted from a spoon, and put it back in the dish being cooked, it was an automatic failure of the class--I've never forgotten that.

Take a chance on salmonella for a few cent's worth of flour? If I pour or shake out too much of an ingredient, I don't
return it to the bottle or box--I'll put it in a smaller container
or bag, label it, and use it next time, but I'm pretty good at estimating amounts. That comes from chemistry class, although I'm pretty sure that nothing in my pantry would explode if contaminated. ;)

Returning left-over unfinished food from a bowl or plate to the cooking pot is just nasty.

yuk; I don't do those things either, and I'm usually just cooking for myself.

I always use a cutting board. I don't have room on my counters to really do any food prep so do most of my prep on the glass top stove. If rolling dough or baking cookies I have silicone mats I use on my kitchen table.