Time magazine cited researchers at Drexel University who published two studies on food safety hazards. As part of the research, they checked 100 Philadelphia homes and found that most homes had evidence of pest infestations and these residents did not store raw meat correctly. On top of that, samples showed that almost half of the kitchens contained at least one foodborne disease-causing organism, with listeria and E. coli found in 15 percent of homes.
“Most of the conditions we saw would compromise a restaurant’s health score or be considered a critical code violation,” said Jennifer Quinlan, PhD, associate professor in the Drexel’s College of Nursing and Health Professions, one of the leaders of the two new studies.
“We were able to find actual pathogens that we know people get sick from,” says Quinlan, citing common pathogens such as staphylococcus aureus, salmonella, campylobacter, and listeria. “We were able to isolate these pathogens from essentially all over kitchens, including inside refrigerators, on refrigerator door handles, on counters, in sinks and on sponges.”
Read the Time magazine article.
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