Shelf Life Advice Study Says Throw Away That Kitchen Sponge

May 15, 2014 - PRLog -- Consumers who have a sponge sitting on their kitchen sink should seriously consider discarding this menace. That's one of the messages of a recent 20-item study conducted by ShelfLifeAdvice.com, a website that deals with methods for keeping foods tasty and safe.

What's wrong with the oh-so-handy, ubiquitous sponge?  To put it simply, those little holes trap harmful bacteria, and it's not easy to dislodge them. Here is the Q/A on sponges with the percentage responses from college and university teachers and researchers in the food sciences.

Sponges ________ . (Respondents can choose as many answers as they agree with.)

a) are so difficult to decontaminate that they shouldn't be used in the kitchen:  52%

b) can be safely decontaminated in the dishwasher:  35%

c) can be safely decontaminated in the microwave:  45%

d) can be decontaminated with hot water and bleach:  35%

e) can be decontaminated with a method other than those listed above:  14%

Dr. Yao-wen Huang, a professor on the faculty of the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences wrote the following comment:

"I do not recommend the use of sponges because of the high water activity and safe harborage of bacteria that can then be spread to surfaces/areas where the sponge is used."

Another respondent simply said it was easier to wash dishcloths than decontaminate sponges.

Note that more than half of the respondents do NOT believe sponges can be adequately decontaminated by the dishwasher, microwave, or even bleach water.

According to professor emeritus Dr. Susan Brewer, who taught food safety courses at the University of Illinois for many years, dishwashers can't solve the germy sponge problem; they don't get hot enough to decontaminate sponges.

So, is it possible to have a safe kitchen that contains a sponge?  Yes, but keeping that sponge relatively germ-free will be either expensive or just too much trouble.  Dr. Brewer says one of these methods will decontaminate the sponge:

• Use a sponge for only 1 day and discard it (an expensive solution to the problem).

• Sanitize the used sponge at the end of EVERY DAY by soaking it in a solution of 3 tablespoons of chlorine bleach in 1 quart of water for 5 minutes. Rinse the sponge, wring it out, and let it dry.  Warning: don’t overdo the bleach. If you do, the sponge may fall apart.

• Soak the used sponge in straight chlorine bleach while squeezing repeatedly.

• Boil the sponge (with water that’s at a full rolling boil) for 3 minutes.

• Microwaves can penetrate the sponge, so, while it is still wet, microwave it for 2 minutes on high power.  Since microwaves vary in power, it’s necessary to watch the sponge while you microwave it to be sure it gets sufficiently hot to generate steam.  NEVER MICROWAVE A DRY SPONGE.  You could start a fire that way.

Let's face it, most consumers won't bother with any of the above. So, the question is this: just how difficult is it to break oneself of the sponge habit?  Shelf Life Advice editor Ethel Tiersky says, "It's easy. I used to sniff at my sponge, wondering and worrying about germs and not knowing what to do about them.  After working with Dr. Brewer on the sponge article for my website, I threw away my kitchen sponge and never looked back. Now I wipe up small table spills with a dish rag or very thick, thirsty paper toweling. For larger spoils, I use a couple of dish towels or ShamWow!®, which is more absorbent than an ordinary cloth rag and can be thrown into a load of wash with bleach (but no fabric softener)."

Soiled dish rags can be washed (with bleach), along with dish towels, which should also be washed after one day's use.

To read more about the ShelfLifeAdvice survey, check out these links:

“Raw chicken, Leftovers, Deli Meats, and More-- What Surveyed Scientists Said (http://shelflifeadvice.com/content/raw-chicken-leftovers-...)”

“Is It Safe? Is It Nutritious? More Survey Answers from Scientists (http://shelflifeadvice.com/content/it-safe-it-nutritious-...)”

“Organic Food, GMOs, the Safety of American Food, the Value of Use-By Dates, and More--Scientists Tell Us What They Think (http://shelflifeadvice.com/content/organic-food-gmos-safe...)”

ShelfLifeAdvice.com is a free website with comprehensive shelf-life and storage information on hundreds of foods, with data from university and government websites, food scientists, and other reliable sources.  Since launching in January, 2010, Shelf Life Advice has had more than 2 million visitors and more than 4 million page views.  Currently, 60,000-100,000 readers per month visit the site.