Out of distrust of the sanitary disinfection of tableware in restaurants, chopsticks, spoons and other tableware are soaked in hot water or tea before use, which is considered clean.
can this common hot water immersion achieve the expected disinfection purpose
[can high temperature disinfect?]
Disinfection is to prevent diseases from entering through the mouth. Many infectious diseases are transmitted through eating. The scientific knowledge that bacteria and viruses are the source of infectious diseases has also been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Therefore, hot water disinfection is to kill bacteria and viruses on tableware.
Heat can indeed kill bacteria and viruses. The method of killing microorganisms by heat is called high-temperature disinfection, which was invented by Louis Pasteur, a master of microbiology. Pasteur found that the main culprit was microorganisms in wine when he studied the acidification of wine. After killing these microorganisms with high temperature, wine can be preserved for a long time. This disinfection method is called pasteurization and is still used to disinfect milk and other foods.
However, if the purpose of killing microorganisms is to be achieved, the heating temperature is required. Various microorganisms have different tolerance to temperature. Take hepatitis virus as an example. Hepatitis A virus can be inactivated in 1 minute at 85 degrees Celsius, while hepatitis B virus can be inactivated only after boiling in hot water at 100 degrees Celsius for several minutes. Therefore, if you want to kill microorganisms on the tableware, you should use boiling water that has just boiled, and maintain it at this temperature for a few minutes. Neither hot water nor tea served by the waiter can meet this requirement. Although this kind of disinfection method commonly used by diners can kill some microorganisms, it can not achieve the sanitary disinfection goal we expect, and it plays a more psychological consolation effect.
tableware in some restaurants has undergone relatively strict high-temperature disinfection. Can such tableware be safely used
When eating a buffet, forks, spoons and other tableware are placed in front of each course of food. Studies on these tableware have found that there are many bacteria and viruses on them. These tableware have been strictly disinfected before use. The bacteria and viruses on them are uploaded from the hands of customers. When people take food with these tableware, they will get bacteria and viruses on their hands. If they take food with their hands or touch the mouth, eyes, nose and other parts with their hands, Bacteria and viruses will enter the body. The sterilized chopsticks, spoons, plates and other tableware in restaurants will also be contaminated, including the hands of waiters, other customers and our own hands. Therefore, hand washing is the key to avoid the spread of bacteria and viruses through tableware and food. Wash your hands before and after meals. If your hands touch dirty surfaces during meals, you should also wash your hands before holding food.
When washing hands, many people use hot water, which is better than cold water. In the impression of these people, hot water can kill bacteria and viruses on their hands. This impression is wrong, because the hot water for hand washing is only 40 to 55 degrees Celsius. If you wash your hands with boiled water that can kill viruses and bacteria, your hands will be scalded.
Although hot water can’t kill viruses and bacteria, experts and the US FDA once believed that washing hands with hot water was better than washing hands with cold water, provided that soap was used, because hot water and soap can wash away the grease on hands, which is a breeding ground for bacteria.
However, a 2005 study denied this. In the experiment of washing hands with soap, researchers found that the water temperature had no effect on reducing the presence of bacteria on hands, and the only effect of washing hands with hot water was to make people comfortable. Several subsequent studies have confirmed this. Hot water hand washing is not only not more effective than cold water hand washing, but also washes away the protective layer of the skin and increases the chance of bacterial infection.
Research has found that when people wash their hands, 64% of the time is with hot water. If all the times are added up, for example, the number of times in the United States will reach 800 billion every year, resulting in environmental pollution equivalent to the emissions of 1.25 million cars. Cold water washing is a protection of the environment. The key to hand washing is to wash frequently, rub repeatedly with soap and hand sanitizer for a certain period of time, not the temperature of the water.
[cleaning and disinfection of household tableware]
It is difficult for us to master how to disinfect tableware in restaurants. We can control the disinfection of our own tableware, which is also a very important aspect. No matter how many people there are, as long as there is food, the tableware may be stained with bacteria and viruses, and it needs to be cleaned. Washing tableware is not only to wash away the food left on it, but also to disinfect it.
There are two ways to wash tableware, hand washing and dishwashing. With the improvement of living standards, dishwashers began to enter the family, but Chinese people, including those living overseas, rarely use dishwashers. Compared with hand washing, dishwasher has incomparable advantages because it has a high-temperature disinfection process, which can kill microorganisms on tableware, especially tableware that is not washed in time and has a large number of microorganisms. It also has a drying process, and the washed dishes are dry. Bacteria and viruses like to grow in a relatively humid environment. If the washed tableware is wet and placed in the cupboard, it may breed bacteria and viruses, so it should be put in after it is dry.
If there is no dishwasher, or there are not many dishes, pay attention to the following points when washing dishes by hand. Hot water is also not more effective than cold water. The first thing to pay attention to is the sponge for washing dishes. A study on the sponge for washing dishes used in American households in 1997 found that 33% of them had bacteria breeding. Using such a sponge would backfire. The sponge for washing dishes should be disinfected frequently and replaced regularly. In film and television works, it is often seen that foreigners will dry the tableware with a cloth after washing it by hand. This is another way of pollution, because this cloth will also breed viruses and bacteria. The correct way is to dry the tableware.
Dishwashing liquid containing antibacterial ingredients can play a very small role, because if the antibacterial ingredients are to kill bacteria, they should stay on the tableware for a long time instead of rushing it away. Hand washing and disinfection rely more on physical methods such as wiping and water washing.
The same is true of hand washing, which relies more on physical methods than the hand sanitizer itself. Those hand sanitizers containing antibacterial ingredients are not only useless, but also increase the chance of mutating antibiotic resistant bacteria due to the long-term use of low-dose antibiotics. Therefore, do not use drug-resistant bacteria containing antibiotics. Just wash them with water for a longer time.
[when eating out, I’m worried about how the tableware hygiene is broken?]
Back to tableware disinfection, we don’t need hot water. What should we do if we are not confident about the hygiene of tableware?
One way is to bring your own tableware. At least bring your own chopsticks when the shop doesn’t provide disposable tableware. The second is to prepare alcohol disinfection cotton paper. When you are not confident about the tableware, wipe the tableware with alcohol cotton paper to achieve a more satisfactory disinfection effect.
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