Please Clean Your Spice Jars
Whether you’re making a simple green salad with a spicy vinaigrette or a big roasted piece of meat with a fragrant, crispy crust, at some point you’ll be picking up a couple of jars from your spice shelf. After that, during cleaning, you will bring the jars home, whether it be a well organized alphabetical spice shelf or a less organized spice box. However, you probably won’t be cleaning jars. Most people don’t. You should.
According to The Kitchn , a recent study found that spice jars are less likely to be cleaned than other high-touch areas such as cutting boards and countertops:
In a recent study, 371 participants were asked to prepare meals in test kitchens using raw minced turkey patties and a ready-to-eat salad. Secret ingredient on the menu? A harmless virus called MS2. The real purpose of the study was not to try out new recipes (as participants were told), but to see how much cross-contamination occurs in the kitchen. The researchers found that MS2 cross-contamination was found on most surfaces less than 20 percent of the time, but there was one high-touch area that was contaminated as much as 48 percent of the time: spice jars .
While MS2 is a harmless trace virus, it demonstrates how other harmful pathogens can make their way into the kitchen even if you think you are practicing good kitchen hygiene.
While they may not be as visibly dirty as knives, pans, cutting boards, and countertops, spice jars are susceptible to spatter and spatter. You also have to touch the jars with your hands to access the spices inside, and while I’m sure you’re vigilant about handwashing, mistakes do happen. ( You can’t use the same hand with a jar of garlic powder as you would with raw chicken.)
Luckily, there is a very simple solution to this annoying problem: clean your spice jars. Make it part of your cleaning routine. Before returning dried herbs and spices home, quickly wipe the (closed) jars with a cloth dampened with all-purpose cleaner, or if you want to go the more “natural” route, 50/50. mixture of water and white vinegar. Not only will this prevent harmful pathogens like Salmonella and E. coli from contaminating your kitchen, it will also prevent dirt and grime from building up on your herbs and spices. (Dirty and grime not only look disgusting, but can also be a breeding ground for bacteria.)