A popular content creator revealed the results of using the same tongs to flip raw and cooked meat.
The video was uploaded by @howdirtyis, who posts content about how dirty different items are for his 309,000 followers. This time, it was cooking tongs. First, he placed a raw steak on a hot pan next to another one. Then, he used a cotton swab to wipe down the tongs and placed the swab in a small test vial. Next, the content creator placed the cooked steaks on a cutting board using the same tongs. Afterward, @howdirtyis used another cotton swab to wipe down the tongs and put it in a separate test vial.
He then took out two Petri dishes and labeled them: one using tongs with raw meat and the other with cooked meat. Once done, he used each designated cotton swab to wipe its respective Petri dish. From there, he momentarily placed the bowls in a container with an LED light. Finally, he unveiled the results, which showed bacteria all over both dishes.
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The Daily Dot reached out to @howdirtyis via Instagram direct message and TikTok comment for more information. The video garnered over 76,000 views as of Oct. 13. In the comments section, viewers revealed their methods for preventing cross-contamination.
“Oh no. definitely cross contaminated gotta wash em after last flip,” one user said.
“I use three sets during cooking. I also have OCD,” a second stated.
“I’ve always thought this, I don’t touch the meat with tongs or spatula until the meat is at least seared,” a third commented.
However, others were willing to take their chances.
“I’ll take my chances before having to hunt down new tongs at this point tbh,” one user remarked.
“Good, [it’s not] enough for me to care, thank you for doing this,” a second wrote.
What is cross-contamination? “Cross-contamination is what happens when bacteria or other microorganisms are unintentionally transferred from one object to another. The most common example is the transfer of bacteria between raw and cooked food,” per Food Standard Agency. A few ways to prevent this are to use different utensils when handling cooked and raw meat. Furthermore, wash your hands and utensils thoroughly after handling raw meat.