It's not the bin lid! THIS is the germiest spot in the kitchen. Indians watch out

Germs lurking on kitchen surfaces for many can be the most terrifying stories. For others, touching the bin lid could be a little hesitant task. However, it is your spice rack that could be the silent culprit of your sickness. Spice jars are the germiest place in the kitchen when it comes to cross-contamination, claims a research published in the Journal of Food Protection in November 2022. Let’s take a closer look at the findings. Also read: 'Your kitchen sponge is 200,000 times more filthy than your toilet seat' How spice jars can make one sick? A study commissioned by the US Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service found that spice containers had the highest degree of cross-contamination of any of the surfaces, such as cutting boards, countertops and even trash cans. While other surfaces showed evidence of contamination less than 20 per cent of the time, spice containers were contaminated nearly half the time. [caption id=“attachment_12193522” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] other surfaces showed evidence of contamination less than 20 per cent of the time, spice containers were contaminated nearly half the time. AFP[/caption] In order to determine the prevalence of cross-contamination across kitchen surfaces, the researchers asked participants to make a turkey burger patty and a salad. The participants were not told that the researchers would be examining their food safety behaviour until after they had prepared the meal. Notably, a “tracer organism” named MS2 was present in the turkey so that the researchers could monitor cross-contamination. They examined surfaces including knives, chopping boards, tap handles and sponges, and discovered that only about one-fifth of them contained MS2. But even the researchers were surprised to find that 48 per cent of the spice jars tested positive for MS2 contamination. British news channel Sky News quoted co-author Donald Schaffner, professor at Rutgers University’s department of food science as saying that most research into cross-contamination has looked at chopping boards and taps, neglecting other things touched during cooking such as spice jars and utensils. Cross-contamination of spice jars has not been recorded before, however, Prof Schaffner said that this should be a reminder to home cooks to wipe them down before cooking. Also read: How consumption of stale food may lead to foodborne illness caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites Which other spots in the kitchen are most unhygienic? The study found that besides spice containers, cutting boards and bin lids are the most unhygienic spots. [caption id=“attachment_12193582” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The study found that cutting boards and bin lids are also the most unhygienic spots. Pixabay[/caption] According to Pennsylvania-based Best Life magazine, the researchers wrote, “the spice jars as well as cutting boards and garbage cans) “could be due to their close proximity to the region in which turkey patty handling occurred, the lack of attempts made to wash hands between handling the ground turkey and seasoning the patties with the spices, the lack of attempts made to clean or sanitize the spice containers after handling, and the high number of times the containers were handled.” While the spots with the least cross-contamination were tap handles. They added, “Notable exceptions were the refrigerator handle and inner sink surfaces, which were positive less than 10 per cent of the time.” Also read: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Know symptoms and causes What can be done? No need to freak out and swear off spices, take a deep breath. The simple solution to this problem is washing hands frequently in order to keep you and your digestive tract safe from bacteria. Speaking to The Washington Post, Benjamin Chapman, head of the department of agricultural and human sciences at North Carolina State University and a senior author of the study, said, “When you’re done handling a turkey patty, you need to wash your hands before you grab that spice jar,” further noting that seasoned turkey burgers, which the cooks in the experiment had to form by hand, were specifically chosen for the study because they are a “worst-case scenario.” With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.