What is cross-contamination food? And what are the ways to avoid it?

King Saud Medical City explained what is cross-contamination food contamination, how it occurs and ways to avoid it, indicating that what is meant by it is the transmission of contaminants (bacteria – viruses) from contaminated food, tools and surfaces to uncontaminated food.

The city indicated that this contamination occurs when raw food comes into contact with ready-to-eat food, such as contact with raw poultry with raw vegetables, or when raw food comes into contact with other raw foods such as fish and meat.

She added that among the causes of cross-contamination is also the leakage of liquid from raw food to another ready-to-eat, the use of raw food cutting boards to cut ready-to-eat foods, and the failure to wash hands when moving from one food preparation to another.

She indicated that cross-contamination of food can be avoided by separating all stages of preparation and preservation of raw food from ready-to-eat food, using different cutting boards for ready-made and raw food, and not thawing frozen meat and poultry in ready-to-eat food preparation areas.