People often underestimate the importance of kitchen hygiene in preventing foodborne illness, according to a German agency. Every year, more than 100,000 illnesses are reported in Germany that may have been caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites in food. In 2023, the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) and the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) received 190 reports of foodborne outbreaks that caused 2,248 illnesses, 283 hospitalizations, and 13 deaths.
In surveys on health risks, relatively few people mention kitchen hygiene and the associated illnesses as a serious problem. In the latest German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) consumer monitor, only 17 percent of respondents said they were concerned about it. The level of concern about microplastics is 68 percent and residues of plant protection products in food is 52 percent, both significantly higher.
“Most people assume that they themselves do not make mistakes in their own kitchen, but that the mistakes are produced by others,” said hygiene expert Dr. Heidi Wichmann-Schauer in an episode of “Risko” — the German language science podcast from the BfR . Cross contamination risk Special care should be taken with food of animal origin such as raw meat or fish, as well as raw milk or eggs.
Campylobacter is particularly common, as is Salmonella and certain E. coli. People from vulnerable groups should not eat such foods raw, said Wichmann-Schauer.
“ Especially very young children, very.
