Sustainable. Eco-friendly. Chemical free. These phrases are becoming more and more common in the search for quality housewares. However, one question we don’t ask often enough: Is it safe? A study of Escherichia coli outbreaks in the U.S. found that 80% of suspect hamburgers were prepared and eaten at home. A similar study of salmonella outbreaks in Australia found that 90% were associated with home prepared food. Keeping our homes safe, especially when it comes to food preparation, requires safe and healthy food prep materials.
Finding the right products, however, can be overwhelming. Whether you’re a retailer, wholesaler, or simply looking for the best solution for your home, we’re here to make the process easier. We’ve done the research for you so that you can sit back and feel confident in your home collection choices—finding the best products for a safe and healthy home.
Why Healthy Home Products Matter
There are many factors that affect our health and safety in today’s world. With the increasing numbers of threats that face us, sometimes we can’t pinpoint how we acquired a particular illness. Could it be the smoke from vehicles, public transport, the sudden change in weather, food that I eat regularly, or even the way I prepare my food at home?
While that last question may never cross your mind, a surprising number of foodborne illnesses happen because of poor food prep in the home. Or in other cases, because of cross contamination caused by low-quality kitchen products.
Kitchen utensils and cutting boards also are key cross contamination routes. In fact, research in the USA. suggests that 14% of all foodborne illnesses may be due to inadequately cleaned cutting boards and knives. Although nearly all consumers report they wash these items after using them with raw meat or produce, observational data indicate that the vast majority of consumers do not clean cutting boards and utensils sufficiently to prevent cross contamination.
Having the right utensils, cutting boards, spatulas, etc.—made from the right materials—can make a difference in how safe and healthy your home really is.
Best Products for Food Safety
We’ve curated a collection of kitchen utensils and food prep products that are safe for every home. The most common denominator: having the right material and cleaning it properly. If you want to improve the safety of your food prep at home and the health of your kitchen, we recommend starting here.
Cutting Boards
Let’s start by looking at the cutting board. This item is used to chop or prepare raw meat, veggies, fruit, bread, and any number of raw or cooked food items.
Imagine you use the same cutting board to prepare raw chicken as you do to slice your favorite vegetable. Even if you wash your cutting board, bacteria can still live in the grooves and crevices left by your knife. It can even seep into the pores of the cutting board if it is made from a soft wood.
Now consider your kitchen like a high end restaurant. You wouldn’t be pleased if a restaurant prepared your food on overused, damaged cutting boards. You would expect them to have the safest, highest quality products. Well, the same is true for a safe and healthy home.
Ditch the old, grooved cutting boards and invest in a high quality material like bamboo or acacia. Bamboo cutting boards are harder and less porous than hard woods because it is technically grass. It resists knife scratches, is environmentally sustainable, and can be easily washed and disinfected.
Acacia, on the other hand, is a true hardwood. It will dull your knives less quickly, while still resisting bacterias due to natural oils in the wood that create a water-resistant barrier. Both materials are popular choices for home safe cutting boards.
Dr. Andrew Weil, a world-renowned leader in the field of integrative medicine, chooses to use a bamboo cutting board in his kitchen. He doesn’t own a restaurant but he owns a home. Where he believes he has the power to keep it safe and healthy.
Grab a collection of bamboo cutting boards or acacia cutting boards and your kitchen is set up for healthy home cooking.
Kitchen Utensils
While many home cooked meals may start with the cutting board, they also require the right utensils for cooking, flipping, stirring, and frying. Bamboo kitchenware such as spatulas, spoons, and other utensils are a great choice for a safe and healthy home.
Bamboo has naturally antimicrobial properties. Not only is the tough fiber of bamboo less porous than many types of wood, it repels bacteria growth at the surface.
Wooden utensils made of soft woods are more likely to absorb water, food, and even the odors and flavours of the item you’re cooking. Bamboo utensils, on the other hand, do not easily absorb these materials. Instead, when washed and dried properly, bamboo utensils can be used for years without building up bacteria growth, absorbing spices and flavours from food, or splintering from overuse.
Healthy Home Food Prep Starts with You
The CDC estimates that at least 48 million Americans get foodborne illness each year. While it is difficult to determine how many of those illnesses happen because of food cooked at home, the chances are it is far more than we realize.
Understanding that food health and safety starts in home is the first step to creating a safer environment for you and your family. But it goes beyond that as well. Accessing products that allow us to create a safer environment in the home is essential.
We can individually choose to buy safe products made from high-quality materials. Yet, there is more to the story. How do we ensure we are getting the best products for a healthy home? Wholesalers and retailers play a key role in providing products and kitchenware collections that help the consumer make the best choice for their home.
As a manufacturer and designer of quality home goods, we work with retailers and wholesalers across the globe to help curate houseware collections that are sustainable, safe, healthy, and that consumers will love.
Be a game-changer for a healthy and safe home. You can be an instrument to change behaviors, educate minds, save money, avoid stress, and even save lives. Give the people the right choice. Even the best choice. Contact us for more information or to request a catalog of our product samples.