I love to cook but sometimes I get into a rut when it comes to new recipes. I’ve recently discovered the social networking site Pinterest for cooking inspiration. The folks I follow on Pinterest have led me to glazed pork roast, baked penne with broccoli and a good spinach, blueberry and chèvre salad. Not bad stuff.

When I’m in the kitchen, I worry about pathogen introduction (from the incoming food); cleaning and sanitizing my counters and utensils; and, using my Comark PDT300 tip-sensitive digital thermometer to check whether what I’m cooking has hit the right temp. But that’s only the half the stuff I worry about. By the time I’ve hit the kitchen I’ve already tried to choose food from retail stores that take food safety seriously or farmers’ market vendors who can tell me about their risk-reduction practices.

Most of my steps don’t really match up with what food safety expert Mark Nealon’s top-4 food safety in the kitchen tips in Prevention Magazine.

Mark says:

-Sanitize with heat: When Nealon uses tongs to put raw poultry or meat on the grill, he also places the tips on the grill. He then closes the lid, leaving the handles outside. The intense heat zaps bacteria, so he can safely use the same tongs to remove the cooked food. (maybe, sort of depends on how long the tongs are in there -ben)

–Wash before you cut: People usually don’t wash fruits such as melons before cutting into them. But such produce grows in dirt, and your knife can easily transfer pathogens such as the deadly Listeria that recently contaminated cantaloupes from the rind to the flesh (It’s not clear whether the Listeria was on the inside or outside of the cantaloupes -ben). So avoid buying precut produce (why? what about stuff that was washed, cut with a clean/sanitized blade and held below 41F?), and give all the fruits and vegetables a thorough cleansing with a produce brush before slicing. Even better: Place vinegar in a spray bottle and give your produce a spritz. Wait 30 seconds, then rinse thoroughly (What does this do that a rinse under vigorously running water doesn’t?).

-Put cooked food away promptly: Never contaminate food with your hands or utensils that have been in your mouth (sort of a weird one – does this mean you shouldn’t use a fork that has been in your mouth -ben). And refrigerate it within 2 hours after cooking otherwise, toss it (or 4 hours if you’d like to follow evidence-based instructions -ben).

–Sanitize with boiling water: Before he cooks, Nealon puts a pot of water on the stove. That way it’s ready to purge germs from utensils and sponges before and after he uses them. When he’s done, he dumps the water in the sink to clean it (I put dirty utensils/cutting boards directly into the dishwasher and use a bleach solution spray on counters/sinks after I’ve cleaned them -ben).