Imagine that you are seated at the feast at the moment
There is such a pair of dishes and chopsticks in front of you
What will you do next?
(See what kind of foodie you are)
"Why do you have to iron the bowl?"
Guangdong people will solemnly tell you: disinfection and sterilization!
The ultimate goal of lǒng bowl chopsticks before meals is to hope to eat with peace of mind.
(Source: soogif)
Take the most common wooden chopsticks:
The wooden structure itself is relatively loose, and after a long time, there will be many small grooves or cracks on the surface, which is highly absorbent and more prone to moisture in the wet chopsticks.
(What chopsticks to choose?) Can be pulled down to the end of the article sneak peek ~)
(Source: Shanghai Municipal Consumer Protection Commission official website)
In addition to mold, microorganisms such as Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli may also be bred [1].
Coliform pollution of tableware has always been the focus of supervision and inspection of the domestic catering industry, and the national standard "GB14934-1994 Food (Drink) Disinfection and Hygiene Standards" stipulates that the coliform bacteria on tableware must be less than 3/100 square centimeters, and pathogenic bacteria shall not be detected [2].
If the immunity is good, even if you occasionally use unclean tableware, there will be no big reaction. However, when used by people with weak resistance, it may cause symptoms of digestive tract infections such as diarrhea and vomiting [1].
If the wood chopsticks are severe, they will also breed the poison king of "aflatoxin", which is the most damaging to the liver [3].
Incidents of food poisoning due to unclean tableware occur almost every year and month.
Last year, an internet celebrity beverage store was also found to have substandard tableware cleanliness.
Let's first follow the customs, follow the Guangdong liangzai and liangmei "cloud" to understand the mysterious ritual of "bowl teaching".
Step 1: Pour the tea into the cup along the chopsticks
The chopsticks stir quickly
The so-called "martial arts in the world are only fast and not broken"
Step 2: Put the spoon in the cup and stir
Step 3: Put the teacup upside down in the bowl
The mouth of the cup does the "magic circle of love" in the water.
Step 4: Pick up the bowl and shake it
Let the tea flow evenly through the bowl
Pour another cup (or pot) into a communal tea cup
In 10 to 20 seconds, you can get a pair of chopsticks...
(Source: Self-made)
For tableware, "high temperature boiling" is indeed the most common way of disinfection. But there are prerequisites: one is that the temperature should be sufficient, and the other is that the time should be enough.
The disinfection hygiene specifications issued by the state mention that the thermal disinfection (boiling, steam disinfection) method needs to be maintained for about 10 minutes at a temperature of 100 ° C [2].
Therefore, scalding with hot water is not wrong in principle. But the water that irons the chopsticks is not boiling water, and the temperature is not enough; even if you use boiling water, a few seconds is not enough. For pathogenic microorganisms, this is nothing more than a "hot bath".
Of course, this can still wash away some bacteria and surface dirt.
In a word: useful, but not so effective.
The material of the bowl is mostly white porcelain, which can be seen at a glance that it is not clean. Just a reminder:
Do not stack the bowls that have not been dried after washing, otherwise they will not be easy to dry thoroughly, and bacteria or mold will grow in the bowl.
The solution is simple, buy a bowl rack -
The material of chopsticks is diverse, and it is still difficult to see at a glance that it is dirty or not. And it is directly into the mouth, must be all-round to close!
●Eating out
At this time, the disinfection of the dishes and chopsticks has actually been handed over to the restaurant itself! All you have to do is pick a restaurant that is hygienically qualified.
Of course, if you want to burn, you can also burn. Especially in the south, especially in Guangdong, where there are too many bugs, cockroaches can burrow into their ears, and it is possible that any tableware will be crawled over. Burn it, feel better...
If it is disposable tableware, pay attention to the outer packaging: whether there is a manufacturer, trademark and contact information, preferably a production date and shelf life. Disposable wooden chopsticks and disposable bamboo chopsticks, the shelf life should generally not exceed 6 months.
You can also touch the tableware with your hands, if there is a sense of water, greasy, it is not washed, it is recommended to replace.
● Eat at home
The Shanghai Municipal Consumer Protection Commission has conducted special tests on 860 pairs of chopsticks of different materials, including five types of chopsticks such as wood, bamboo, stainless steel, melamine, and alloy, of which 200 pairs of old chopsticks and 660 pairs of new chopsticks [3].
Regarding the mold situation that everyone is most worried about, the test results are simply like this:
1. Wet chopsticks are more likely to grow mold than dry chopsticks
Recommendation: Be sure to dry the washed chopsticks in a ventilated place, or dry them with a special dry cloth.
2. Old chopsticks are more moldy than new chopsticks
Recommendation: Chopsticks will have burrs and burrs after a long time, and it is easy to leave food residues and produce mold. It is best to change it semi-annually.
3. The number of molds in bamboo chopsticks and wooden chopsticks is more than 7 times that of stainless steel and other materials
Recommendation: Bamboo and wood chopsticks, pay more attention to keep dry, to avoid mold.
If you are worried that your chopsticks are already contaminated, how do you disinfect them?
Different disinfection tools and disinfection times for different chopsticks can be referred to the following table [4]:
As for disinfecting dishes with alcohol, it is almost useless!
If you find that the chopsticks have a very obvious blackening, mold, etc., it means that the mold has occupied the "heart" of the chopsticks. Many molds are very heat-resistant, and it is difficult to deal with them at high temperatures, so this kind of chopsticks should be thrown away immediately and replaced with a new one.
Tip: It is best to prepare a pair of special bamboo chopsticks for fried food
Hit the workers, cooking is also very important! So, are your "healthy chopsticks" ready?
Finally, a warm reminder: for many people to dine, it is best to use public chopsticks! You can avoid infectious diseases
Review expert: Li Chunhui | Deputy Chief Physician of Infection Control Center, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University
bibliography
Shen Jin, Sun Huihui, Zhu Renyi, et al. Study on microbial contamination status of household tableware[J]. Journal of Environmental Hygiene, 2014, 000(002):174-177.
[2] GB 14934-1994 Disinfection and hygiene standards for food (drink) utensils
[3] Luo Zisheng, Qin Yu, etc. Advances in biosynthesis, metabolism and toxicity of aflatoxin. Food Science,2015,36(03):250-256.]
[4] China Consumer Daily "860 pairs of chopsticks hygiene test! "Boiling water to blanch" is useless! The right way to do this is to
Lu Chunqiang,Sun Yan,Shen Xia. Hazard source analysis of chopstick safety[J]. Journal of Food Safety and Quality Testing,2019,10(12):3679-3682.
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