Safe food, at home and away
How clean is that kitchen?
By Caroline Cummins
August 27, 2008
So Mark Bittman’s blog recently ran a guest post comparing the potential food safety of ethnic food vendors and the IKEA cafeteria. Conclusion? Given how often we endanger ourselves at home — sharp knives, stovetop fires, food left in the fridge too long — we’re better off eating out anywhere than at home.
Hm. Perhaps only a true New Yorker could have plumped so wholeheartedly for restaurants, especially given the recent calls for national restaurant cleanliness standards. (Want to spend a few minutes grossing yourself out online? Check out the food-inspection webpage of King County, the home county of Seattle, Washington.)
Here’s our advice: Learn to use (and sharpen) knives properly. Be aware of flare-ups. If you’re not sure about that tub of leftovers in the fridge, throw it out. And for the full home-cooked-meal deal, visit Home Food Safety, a website put together by the American Dietetic Association. How safe is your kitchen? They’ll tell you.
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There are 2 comments on this item
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1. by lorik on Aug 29, 2008 at 11:35 PM PDT
I reread that article three times and cannot fathom how you came to those interpretations of what was written. “.only a true New Yorker could have plumped so wholeheartedly for restaurants” Huh? Where do yo u see plumping for restaurants?
" — we’re better off eating out anywhere than at home” Again, where is that in the article? Perhaps you might want to reread it.
I expected better from Culinate.
2. by Caroline on Sep 3, 2008 at 4:24 PM PDT
lorik -- Daniel Meyer, the author of the Bitten blog post, concludes, “I am much safer in Ikea’s cafeteria than I am in my own kitchen.” In other words, Meyer has decided that, for him, any food eaten out (he specifically cites street vendors and Ikea) will be better than food made at home.
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