Keep Probe Thermometers Clean To Prevent Foodborne Illness


 
This would seem to be much more of an issue in a commercial kitchen where there are dozens of dishes at various stages of being done or where the thermometer might be used to ensure foods are being held at the proper temperature. Unless I'm unusual in this regard, I seldom prepare more than one item in which I'm using the same thermometer. Certainly it makes sense to consider the thermometer probe as a vector for cross-contamination just like any other shared utensil, but it's not something for which I'd feel the need to buy special wipes. ThermoPops, on the other hand...
 
This would seem to be much more of an issue in a commercial kitchen...

You're right. It just got me to thinking about how seriously I take cleaning the probes on my thermometers, and whether there are instances of cross-contamination that I'm not paying attention to.
 
I could definitely do a better job at cleaning my thermometers - I pretty much just rub & rinse them under warm water after each use. I rarely use probes anymore, just a few times per year.
 
I don't know that I even clean them between meals most of the time. Certainly worth thinking about, especially with chicken.
 
I keep a squirt bottle next to the kitchen sink filled with water and a little bleach.
This gets squirted on the T-pen's probe, and anything raw meat has touched, knives, platters, etc.
Then rinsed off and washed with soap and water.
Tongs get the same treatment after the meat has cooked to a point of safety.
 
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I wipe down the ThermoPops after each insertion and before they are put away with soap and water. The probes are wiped down before and after they are used.
Tongs I use one for the cook and a clean one to remove the meat from the grill.
 
I keep a squirt bottle next to the kitchen sink filled with water and a little bleach.
Just a word of warning. Once bleach is mixed with water it starts to lose its effectiveness. For disinfecting (100% bacteria kill) the solution is only good for 24 hours. For sanitizing (99.99% kill) it should be good for several days. You certainly would want to mix up a new batch at least every week.
 
I must be doing something wrong. Scolding hot water is usually the biggest extreme I'll go to for raw food contact.(and soap too of course)
 

 

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