Are you a double dipper? If you don’t know what that means, it’s when you dip your chip in salsa or guacamole and take another bite with the same dunked chip. According to a new study, there is enough bacteria on your chip that double dipping could make the salsa or guacamole unsafe to eat.
Can’t stop yourself from double dipping? In that case, you should be careful with whom you share your food! A new study found that twice as many bacteria are on the outside of silverware than on the inside. The scientists explained that this is because people lick their fingers and utensils while they’re eating, so they transfer germs from their hands to their silverware.
Are you a double dipper? Maybe you should stop.
Invented in the 1960s and popularized by the hit show Seinfeld, the double dip is when a person takes a chip and dips it in salsa or another dip once, then re-dips it into the same bowl of salsa after taking a bite. Double dippers contaminate the bowl with their germs.
If you think double dipping is gross, you’re not alone. In fact, in one survey, 91% of people said they find double dipping to be disgusting. But why should we care about protecting our guacamole from double-dipping strangers? After all, it’s just rude behavior.
But according to Jonathan Pace, a food safety consultant and co-owner of A&B Food Safety Consulting in Indianapolis, Indiana, we need to worry about more than just germs and manners when it comes to double dipping—it’s also about food safety. “Double dipping is most likely unsafe because saliva has lots of germs,” he says. “So if someone takes a bite of something and then dips the same thing back into the communal bowl or shared plate, those germs from their mouth are now in that shared dish or bowl.”
Are you a double dipper? You know, someone who dips a chip or cracker in a dip, takes a bite and then dips it back in the dip again?!
If you are, stop it! You’re committing a serious food faux pas.
While double dipping may not be the worst thing in the world — some may not even realize they’re doing it — the practice does transfer bacteria from someone’s mouth to everyone else’s appetizer. And for guests who don’t want to snack on anything that has touched your saliva, this can be quite concerning.
Still not sure why double dipping is such an issue? Allow us to explain. According to research from Clemson University, even if you were to dip once into the bowl of salsa and then put the clean side back down on the chip, you would still transfer thousands of bacteria into the dip with every bite!
How many people have dipped into that bowl of salsa today? You don’t know, so why take any chances? Just skip the double dipping.
Food safety is a growing concern among the general public. A recent survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that one in six Americans suffers from food poisoning each year, an increase of 4% from 2016. Yet many people are still unaware of some of the most common causes of foodborne illness.
Did you know that double dipping is dangerous?
Double dippers, beware! When you put a chip in your mouth, then put it back into the dip, you transfer all manner of bacteria from your mouth to the dip. Then when someone else takes a chip and dips it, they’re getting two kinds of germs: yours and those from everyone else who double dipped before you.
One recent study found that just three double dips can result in a 100 times increase in bacteria in the dip. Yikes!
Researchers at Clemson University in South Carolina have found that double dipping a chip can transfer millions of bacteria from a person’s mouth to the party dip, increasing contamination by up to 1000 times.
The researchers studied salsa and cheese dips to determine how many bacteria are transferred with each bite of chip. The dips were spiked with harmless bacteria and given to volunteers who dipped once or twice.
Bacteria transfer increased exponentially with each double dip, they found. One double dip transferred about 10,000 bacteria from the mouth to the bowl; a second double dip transferred an additional 100,000 bacteria; and a third double dip added another 1 million bacteria.
“It doesn’t take much for you to get sick,” said Paul Dawson, professor of food science at Clemson University. “If you’re going to double dip, you might as well lick the bowl.”
In the world of dishwashers, there are two types of people: those who rinse their dishes before loading the dishwasher and those who don’t.
Rinsing your dishes before loading them into the dishwasher may seem like a good idea, but in reality it’s actually a useless habit that could be making your plates dirtier — not cleaner.
According to The New York Times, dishwashers work best when you scrape off any food bits instead of rinsing them down the sink. This is because many dishwashers have sensors that help determine how dirty the water is, so if you have already rinsed off your dishes, it may falsely indicate that your dishes are clean and not run a full cycle. Plus, if there are still some food particles on your plates, they can get stuck inside the filter and contaminate other dishes as they go through another cycle.
So if you’re not rinsing your dishes before loading them into the dishwasher, you might be thinking that you’re doing something great for the environment by saving water? Think again. When you rinse your dishes under running water from the faucet before loading them into the dishwasher, you could actually be using up to 27 percent more water than if you just loaded
As we all know, the traditional stainless steel dishwasher is a great appliance for keeping your dishes clean. But one thing that isn’t so great about stainless steel is its tendency to look dirty. This is especially true for black stainless steel appliances.
If you’re looking for a dishwasher that won’t get dirty, here are some things to keep in mind:
The first thing to keep in mind is how often you’re going to use it. If you only use it once or twice a week, then it might not be worth getting a stainless steel dishwasher. However, if you’re going to use it every day, then getting a stainless steel dishwasher is definitely worth it. This will save you money on cleaning products and prevent your dishes from looking dirty in the first place.