Germ-free kitchens a rarity in city: Survey

Chennai: A kitchen that appears clean is not necessarily free of germs, say doctors of the Indian Medical Academy (IMA). A survey conducted in 1,400 homes across Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune has revealed that most of those surveyed don’t clean their kitchens regularly with disinfectants.
    This might lead to gastro-intestinal infections such as diarrhoea, abdominal pain, fever, loss of appetite nausea and vomiting, the doctors said at an awareness programme on Wednesday about maintaining hygiene in the kitchen.
    None of the women surveyed in Chennai cleaned their kitchen daily or even bi-weekly, just 1% cleaned it weekly, 8% fortnightly and 14% on a monthly basis. More than 69% of the women said they were not aware that the kitchen was a possible source of infection, said the doctors. Those interviewed said they used detergent powders, bars, liquids and plain water to clean utensils, sinks, slabs, towels and clothes.
    Dr Preetaish Kaul, medical advisor of the IMA, said a visually clean kitchen was generally regarded as free from bacteria, but most people were unaware that only a sanitized and properly disinfected kitchen was free of disease-causing germs.
    About 18% of the Chennai women surveyed said an unclean kitchen could be as dirty as the bathroom and 30% were aware that kitchen slabs, towels and chopping boards could be possible sources of infection.
    Most of the respondents attributed food-borne diseases to be a result of consuming food sold in public places but doctors said most cases of contamination of food occurred in the kitchen, which is the largest cause of infection after contaminated water and unclean hands.
RECIPE FOR DISEASE
E coli | Found in contaminated food and water, undercooked meat, eggs, vegetables, unpasteurised milk
Symptoms | Diarrhoea, vomiting, fever, abdominal cramps, dehydration and weight loss
Norovirus, Rotavirus | Found in dirty food and water Symptoms | Nausea, vomiting, watery diarrhoea, abdominal pain, headache, fever
Giardia Lambia | Spreads through contaminated food and water Symptoms | Bloating, fatigue,diarrhoea, stomach ache