A perfect opportunity is if when cutting chicken into strips, you turn right around and wipe the knife on a dish towel and then slice that melon. That's cross-contamination. We never want to mix raw and ready-to-eat. That's the bottom line. |
Sponges, dish cloths, scouring pads -- any of those things are going to harbor bacteria. You have very good evidence of this when you have a dish rag that you've washed dishes with and you leave it there on the sink overnight. The next morning, if it's warm in your house, you're going to smell an off odor. That's obviously contaminated. It's sure not going to clean dishes. |
The major causes of food becoming unsafe to eat would be improper cooling of foods, not washing hands and improper personal hygiene. Another would be purchasing food from unsafe sources. |