points by malfist 6 days ago

This is why you're way more likely to get food poisoning at home. Or at least at this guys home

bbarnett 6 days ago

You'll never get food poisoning from a frying pan, because you don't use soap. Or have you heard of people getting food poisoning, from not washing their bbq with soap?

Note I didn't say pots. Boiling isn't anywhere near as hot as frying.

The knife? The horrors! I do rinse it and remove all biological matter. Yes, there's still some there. I assure you the wooden block people use, is teeming with bacteria, so do you wash the knife before using it?

I wonder. I often pick fruit from trees, sometimes spit on it and then brush it off on my shirt. Do you do the same?

When you get home from the grocery store, do you wash all your veggies with soap? Or do you just use water? What about your fruit? All washed with soap?

If not, I assure you the fruit and vegetables are far worse than the knife, rinsed off.

And yes, I do wash my hands before preparing food -- and just before eating it. Veggies just aren't meat.

If they were, you'd never see someone eating an apple right from the store, a tree, or not washing them with soap first. I mean honestly, the grocery store apple has often traveled thousands of miles in a crate on a ship, been handled by people putting the food out, been handled by other customers, you, been in a bag that isn't sterilized.

I wonder again, how many use soap on that apple?

Of course when I eat an apple all that's left is the stem, so people are picky anyhow.

  • NicuCalcea 6 days ago

    Wood chopping boards are actually not teeming with bacteria.

    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0362028X2...

    • bbarnett 6 days ago

      Wood blocks, you put knives in like this:

      https://boutiquedelabalayeuse.com/products/bloc-a-couteaux-p...

      They're exceptionally popular in many places. It's not like people wash the holes, some are decades old. And at no point did I say they were 'teeming' with bacteria, I used it as an example of a thing not cleaned.

      It's not like stainless is teeming with bacteria either, espcially when you rinse a knife off. It's far less porous and craggily than those wooden blocks after a decade of use.

      The logic is simple; compare these things to other actions. Otherwise it's all show and theatre to make one feel good, like the TSA.

      • NicuCalcea 6 days ago

        It's not about cleaning, wood has antibacterial properties, it sucks the moisture out of bacteria and kills them. That's true for both wood chopping boards and blocks. There is plenty of literature about it: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266676572...

        > And at no point did I say they were 'teeming' with bacteria

        Is this not a direct quote from your previous comment: "I assure you the wooden block people use, is teeming with bacteria"?

        • bbarnett 6 days ago

          Apparently so, re: teeming.

          But the problem isn't just wood, it's also long term dirt accumulation. And this study is absolutely not validation of your point, stating "Despite the many investigations on the topic, the antibacterial activity of wood is far from fully understood", while also saying different species, and hard vs softwood all have different tested effectiveness.

          This is also about dry wood, yet I've seen countless people put their knifes away wet/damp. Some of these blocks rarely have time to dry.

          I've also seen mould growing on soap, damp debris, and these are things which end up in the block's slots... never washed or cleaned.

          I'm not saying don't use them, I'm saying it's silly to wash frying pans with soap, or vegetables only use knives with soap. Not needed.

          • NicuCalcea 6 days ago

            Just because I can't have my cooking utensils sterile 100% of the time doesn't mean I can't put minimal effort into reducing the risk. I don't want to cook on frying pans covered in rancid oil and dust. The recommendation is to use soap even for cast iron pans.

            Maybe some people do, but I also don't put any wet dishes and cutlery away, I have a dish drainer. If I found my soap was growing mould, I'd throw it in the bin, not write it off as a thing that happens and there's no need to worry about it.

            > this study is absolutely not validation of your point, stating "Despite the many investigations on the topic, the antibacterial activity of wood is far from fully understood"

            This is standard boilerplate present in nearly any paper, scientists never claim that a topic is fully understood and doesn't require any further research.

            • bbarnett 6 days ago

              The point is, you're using TSA logic, and made up issues like dust and rancid oil exhibit that.

              I also notice you haven't responded about washing food with soap. Or about BBQing. Please don't tell me you throw away canned food past its best before, too. That would crush my soul further.

              If you do, please wait until tomorrow to do so, so I may steel myself for the shock.

              • NicuCalcea 6 days ago

                I don't know what TSA logic is. Oil absolutely gets gooey and disgusting if left for a few days. It's fine if that's not an issue for you, I shouldn't criticise people's personal taste, but I prefer not to eat that.

                On your other questions, I will refer you back to my earlier comment in case you missed it: "Just because I can't have my cooking utensils sterile 100% of the time doesn't mean I can't put minimal effort into reducing the risk."

                • account42 5 days ago

                  > I don't know what TSA logic is. Oil absolutely gets gooey and disgusting if left for a few days.

                  That's an issue when there is enough of it to affect the final meal, not if there are microscopic amounts left on the surface of the pan. Just wiping a pan down is enough if you use it regularly.

                  Rancid oil is also not going to give you food poisoning like the guy that started this subthread claimed was happening.

account42 5 days ago

This is absurd. Do you also worry about particulates in the ear you're breathing all the time?