Cross-contamination during cooking is a more common cause of food poisoning and gastroenteritis than spoiled food, Kyunghyang Shinmun reported.

Cross-contamination is bacteria from raw items traveling via utensils or hands onto food eaten as is. Slice a cucumber with the knife you used on raw chicken, and the cucumber reaches the table uncooked.

Where it travels

Three routes dominate: cutting boards and knives, hands, and moisture inside the refrigerator. Juices leaking from raw meat packaging onto vegetables on a lower shelf is the classic case.

Dishcloths and sponges are also named. Left damp, bacteria multiply fast, and wiping the counter with that cloth spreads contamination wider.

What to do

Separate boards for meat and vegetables is the baseline. With only one, cut vegetables first, handle meat after, then wash. Wash hands with soap immediately after touching raw meat, and store raw meat sealed on the bottom shelf.

Cooking meat through to the center still matters. Searing only the surface leaves interior bacteria alive.

Why summer is worse

Bacteria multiply exponentially as temperature rises. A little extra time at room temperature raises counts sharply, and monsoon humidity worsens conditions on counters and cloths.

The time groceries spend at ambient temperature on the way home counts in summer too. Bag chilled items last and shelve them first.

This week Taiwan reported a carcinogen scare over cooking oil and the US a parasitic infection traced to raw vegetables at a fast-food chain. Safety in the supply chain is beyond a consumer's control, but separating cutting boards in your own kitchen can start tonight.