The 6 Items In Your Kitchen That Are COVERED In Germs

It’s an unfortunate reality, but germs are EVERYWHERE. That’s not an exaggeration, they’re literally everywhere.

Most germs are pretty harmless, but some of them are more dangerous than others. These tend to collect in certain areas of our houses, where we don’t clean as often and don’t even think about.

A recent study by the NSF (National Science Foundation) analyzed 14 different common kitchen appliances. They looked at each of them for the presence of 4 of the most common microorganisms that cause foodborne illnesses: E. coli, Salmonella, yeast and mold, and Listeria.

The results were not promising.

Some data from this study includes:

• 36 percent of the items tested contained E. coli, including the refrigerator meat compartment, blender gasket, can opener, rubber spatula, and pizza cutter.
• 36 percent of items had Salmonella as well. The refrigerator meat and vegetable compartments, the rubber seal on a food storage container, can opener, and blender gasket all contained this microorganism.
• Only 14 percent of items tested positive for Listeria, including the refrigerator vegetable compartment and the refrigerator door seal.
• A whopping 100 percent of all 14 items tested positive for yeast and mild. That’s right, all of them. The ones with the most “concerning” levels were the refrigerator vegetable compartment, rubber spatula, blender gasket, refrigerator ice and water dispensers, and rubber seal on a food storage container.

Wow. Even if you’re a clean freak, there doesn’t seem to be much of a way to escape these microorganisms.

So what are the germiest kitchen items? Here’s the NSF’s top six:

1. Refrigerator vegetable compartment: tested positive for Salmonella, Listeria, yeast and mold
2. Refrigerator meat compartment: tested positive for Salmonella, E. coli, yeast and mold
3. Blender gasket: tested positive for Salmonella, E. coli, yeast and mold
4. Can opener: tested positive for Salmonella, E. coli, yeast and mold
5. Rubber spatula: tested positive for E. coli, yeast and mold
6. Food storage container with rubber seal: Salmonella, yeast and mold

Yuck! Which of these is the most worrisome to you?