How Do You Prevent Cross Contaminating in the Kitchen?

I know this probably isn't the answer that you're looking for, but I have never once thought about this - I wash everything in warm water and dishsoap and use the same sponge for everything - and never once have I or anyone else in my family gotten even a teensy bit sick with anything remotely related.

Try not to stress out about it.

I also use a dishcloth everyday. We have a scrubrush we use, but I only use that on the items that I intend to put in the dishwasher anyway.

And....never thought of putting the scrubrush in the dishwasher...the things you learn on this site. :)

I cut meat on a ceramic (or glass) cutting board, that is easy to clean. Rinse with hot water. Then wash everything with dish soap.

Scrub brush goes in the dishwasher, "bits" are rinsed off the sponge, and then it goes in the microwave (soaking wet!) for 10 seconds. Cooks the germs right off. (The soaking wet is important, by the way. Otherwise, it'll catch fire.)

Sponges are gross. They do nothing but harbor bacteria. If you use your sponge to clean something that had raw meat on it, then yes, you're going spread that bacteria around.
For meat, I try to cut it on a plate that way I can rinse any of the bits and pieces off. I can then wash it really really good. I use a dishcloth that only gets used once. After I finish with the dishes, I drape it over the washer to dry. Once it's dry, I toss it in with the other dirty clothes. If I do use a cutting board for raw meat, I rinse it off until there are no pieces left behind. Then I spray it with Clorox Anywhere Hard Surface spray before I wash it. I'm very anal about making sure I sterilize anything raw meat has touched before using it for something else.

Good morning S S I rinse my cutting board then put it in my dishwasher, sponges hold a lot of germs and bacteria. J.

First, I have different cutting boards for different things - one for meat/poultry, one for fish, and one for fruit, veggies, and others. To wish the board, I use a sponge and just make it very sudsy and soapie. I then rise it out and am good to go. I also use Clorox or Lysol disinfecting wipes to clean the surface I was working on afterwards.

Good luck!

I use a kitchen washcloth, in fact a clean one every day.. however, IF I use it to clean anything other than dishes, then I automatically put it in the wash .. so as NOT to contaminate. Additionally, when I cut other things such as fish, chicken and or even use eggs, I will also use a separate washcloth and then toss it in the wash.. lastly, I ALWAYS wash my hands after preparing any food and never touch the faucet handle with my unwashed hands, nor do I open jars of food or spices... anytime you cut something like fish or chicken, etc.. if you get it on your hands and then open another container (even the fridge handle) you are cross-contaminating..

best of luck

use a scrub brush, never a sponge and put them both through the dishwasher when done

I use a dishwasher safe cutting board for meat--never wood.
After I use it I rinse, put it in the dishwasher.
If I wash it by hand, I throw the sponge in the dishwasher as well.
You can also sanitize a sponge by microwaving it after using it for something like that. But I usually rotate two sponges, O.'s in the dishwasher & O. is "clean."

I don't use sponges. I use bristle brushes.

Byproduct of having a Microbiologist for a mother. Also... my micro teacher had everyone bring in their sponges to test them. You would not believe how gross they were. Only one person had a sponge that wasn't grosser than licking a dirty toilet. They kept it in a bucket of 10% bleach when not in use. But they also had to replace every week because the bleach degraded it. Which also helped keep it from being nasty.

never cut meat on a wooden cutting board, or on a pizza stone, or near your sponges! I dont allow meat into my kitchen, but definitely dont allow it near your absorbent kitchen materials.

I also use different cutting boards and they are all dishwasher safe. After I cut meat, poultry, whatever... right into the dishwasher! If I have to scrub with a sponge, I use very hot water with lots of soap and then run the sponge through the dishwasher too!

I actually hate sponges and rarely use them b/c of the contamination thing. We go through a ton of papertowels on our house as a result!

I don't use a sponge, I use a scrub brush on a handle. I scrub that cutting board and load all the dishes in the dishwasher and then put the scrub brush in the dishwasher. Never had a problem and my scrub brush is always clean!

I use something similar to this:
http://www.amazon.com/Homebasix-Dish-Scrub-Brush-YB3327/d...