Yes, your kitchen is absolutely dirty, rotten, filthy! But don't feel bad, because you're not alone.

NSF International just ran a study on people's kitchens and found that most of them are covered in bacteria.

Now don't go turning into a Howard Hughes-level germophobe, so paranoid you'll never want to eat at home again. But you should know the six most contaminated items in your kitchen are:

  • The vegetable and meat compartments in your fridge
  • The rubber seal under the blade of your blender
  • The can opener
  • The rubber spatula
  • And the rubber-sealed food storage containers.

With honorable mentions going to things like:

  • The knobs on your stove
  • The Salt and Pepper Shakers
  • The sink
  • And your kitchen sponge

The study found E. coli bacteria on 25% of the kitchen items tested. Salmonella was on 25%, listeria on 10% and yeast and mold on 100%!

So how do you prevent the threat of contaminating your food? Well, as Joan Crawford would say, "SCRUB!"

You must clean more carefully. Make sure you wash things like the blender base and the rubber gasket, not just the blender container. It also wouldn't hurt to run your refrigerator drawers through the dishwasher every once and awhile.

Oh yeah, and what about that germ infested kitchen sponge? The experts say you should clean and dry the sponge in the dishwasher every day to thoroughly sanitize it.  Or, place a damp sponge in the microwave for 60 seconds to quickly eradicate any harmful organisms.

Finally, remember to replace your kitchen sponge every month.

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