The danger in cross contamination

cutting-boardsfood-safety

This question was prompted by this one on how to clean tools to prevent cross contamination. I wanted to ask it in the comments but realized it might be better as a separate question.

Do I need to be worried about cross contamination if everything is being cooked together? For example, is there a problem if I'm making a stew and I cut the meat and vegetables on the same board with the same knife without washing them in between if I then throw it all into the same pot? I've never really worried about cross contamination between foods that I was going to cook together anyways – is this a serious faux paus?

This mostly applies to foods that were going to be cooked at high temperatures where I figured any bacteria would be killed anyways, like stews, stir frys, or casseroles.

Best Answer

Whilst you'll probably be fine using the same knife and chopping board to prepare everything that's going in an "all in one" meal such as a stew, here's the reasons I have for never doing so:

  • It's a bad habit to get into. It's very easy to slip-up and forget that you're not making an "all in one" meal and thus chop some lettuce on a board you've already used for slicing raw bacon when making a salad, if most of the meals you make are "all in one" and you usually don't have to "worry" about cross-contamination
  • It doesn't take that long. Washing your chopping board down with hot soapy water and a clean sponge/scourer takes literally a few minutes, the same can be said for a knife. If you're pressed for time you could turn the board over and use a fresh knife. That assumes that the work surface was clean beforehand and the food being prepared on the "first" side was dry and thus won't have liquid run-off that's contaminated the underside of the board
  • It's not worth getting wrong. If you make a mistake and get food poisoning, or worse - give someone else food poisoning, you'll really wish you'd done your utmost to prevent cross-contamination.