9 kitchen safety hazards, serious and fatal! Especially the first one, many people have been tricked

The kitchen is a sacred place for cooking delicious food, carrying the atmosphere and joy of the family. Cooking and chatting with family members is such a warm scene.

However, there are many details in the kitchen that require attention. Any negligence may lead to tragedy, and even the house may be "blown up".

In this article, we have listed 9 common and fatal safety hazards in the kitchen. Come and see if you are one of them!

01

The moldy cutting board is still in use

Many people use wooden cutting boards in their kitchens. After a long time of use, there will be many scratches on them. Wooden cutting boards are loose and porous, easily affected by moisture, and are also a breeding ground for many bacteria and molds.

If the cutting board is moldy, it is recommended not to use it again, otherwise it will increase the risk of food poisoning or even liver cancer. After using the cutting board, it should be cleaned in time and hung in a ventilated and dry place to dry.

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02

Frozen food directly into the pan

Frozen food contains ice. If you put it directly into a boiling oil pan, the ice will sublime and quickly turn into water vapor. The water vapor will also carry some hot oil in the process of overflowing, which can easily burn people. The food may also explode. It is even more dangerous if the oil droplets encounter an open flame.

03

Cooking sticky foods in a pressure cooker

The reason why a pressure cooker can make food that cannot be cooked in ordinary pots become particularly soft is because it can exert greater pressure on the food and raise the boiling point of the water in the pot to 120℃.

There is an exhaust valve on the lid of the pressure cooker to release steam and control the pressure inside the pot.

When using a pressure cooker to cook porridge, beans and other sticky foods, the vent holes are easily clogged. Also, if too much water is added when cooking meat, the vent holes are easily clogged. If the pressure cooker fails to adjust the pressure inside the pot in time, it will cause an explosion.

Therefore, before using the pressure cooker, you must pay attention to the position of the minimum water level line and the maximum water level line , and check whether the exhaust valve is blocked and the airtightness of the rubber ring. Also, clean the exhaust valve in time after use.

In addition, you also need to pay attention to the service life of the pressure cooker. Generally, the service life of a pressure cooker is 5 to 8 years. There are differences between different brands and materials, so you need to pay attention to the instructions.

04

Pour flour on the stove

It is not uncommon to hear news reports of explosions caused by pouring flour while cooking in the kitchen. Many people may not understand why flour would explode since it is not gunpowder.

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Flour does explode, but not all flour will explode. Five conditions must be met for flour to explode: [1]

① There is dust that can be oxidized: flour.

② There are oxides: such as oxygen in the air. When the oxygen concentration in the dust/air mixture reaches a certain value and exceeds the limit oxygen concentration, an explosion will occur.

③ Dust is suspended into a cloud of a certain concentration: The dust of flour that floats up when pouring flour is such a cloud. It is dangerous if it reaches a concentration that can cause an explosion. However, if it is the kind of flour piled on the table, it will not explode.

④ Fire source: When the fire source reaches a certain energy and intensity, it will ignite the floating clouds.

⑤ Confined space: The airtightness will affect the concentration of dust, and thus affect the power of the explosion.

So, even though a small amount of flour won't explode, it's still best to avoid pouring flour near a gas stove for safety reasons.

In addition to flour, it is recommended not to use sprays, pesticides, alcohol, kitchen paper, or rags near the fire, and not to stick plastic wrap on the walls near the stove.

05

Put out the fire by pouring water on the oil pan

When cooking, the oil pan is too hot and the oil can easily catch fire. In this case, many people will use water to extinguish the fire. Although water can put out fire, it really can't do this for the fire in the oil pan.

Water and oil are inherently incompatible. If you pour water into a "high-fire" oil pan, it will cause an explosion, causing the oil and fire to splash everywhere, easily leading to a bigger fire.

The correct way to do it is to cover the burning pot with a lid or a large wet towel to isolate it from oxygen, so that the fire will naturally go out; you can also pour the cut vegetables into the pot along the edge of the pot.

06

Cutting boards and knives are not separated for raw and cooked food

Raw ingredients may be contaminated with bacteria or parasites. Sharing the same chopping board for raw and cooked ingredients may lead to cross-contamination and increase the risk of food poisoning.

The correct way is to use separate cutting boards for raw and cooked food, use different cutting boards for cutting meat and vegetables, or cut vegetables and fruits on the front and raw meat on the back. After cutting raw meat, be sure to thoroughly clean the cutting board and hang it to dry.

07

Cooking without using the range hood

Nowadays, many families have closed kitchens without windows, which is not conducive to the exhaust of cooking fumes; some people do not have the habit of turning on the range hood when cooking, and these habits are very bad for your health.

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Cooking fumes contain about 220 components, including mutagens and carcinogens such as benzopyrene, volatile nitrosamines, and heterocyclic amine compounds. [2] Long-term exposure to cooking fumes may cause pharyngitis, rhinitis, tracheitis, and other diseases, and in severe cases may induce lung cancer.

Some epidemiological studies have confirmed that exposure to restaurant fumes is associated with lung cancer incidence in the population and significantly increases the risk of lung cancer in non-smoking women. [2]

Cooking fumes can also cause oxidative damage to the body and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Therefore, when cooking, be sure to turn on the range hood first and pay attention to kitchen ventilation.

08

Gas stove hose is not replaced all year round

The rubber hose of the gas stove is something that many people tend to overlook. If used for too long, the hose will age and become loose, which may cause gas leakage and explosion.

The general safe service life of gas rubber hose is 2 years. It must be inspected regularly on a daily basis. If it is found to be loose, cracked, or bitten by rats, it must be dealt with in a timely manner.

09

Microwaving eggs

Microwave ovens are a good helper in many people's lives, but if they are not used properly, they can also have a "hot temper", and not all foods can be heated in a microwave.

For example, heating eggs in a microwave is a very dangerous operation, as it may cause the eggs to become fried.

This happens because microwave ovens heat food from the inside out. Microwaves radiate directly to every corner of the food, causing polar molecules (such as water, fat, and sugar) inside the food to rub and collide violently, so that each part of the food instantly gains heat and heats up. [3]

The inside of an egg is almost an enclosed space. When heated in a microwave oven, the internal temperature rises instantly, and cannot dissipate in time. The excessive pressure will cause it to explode. Whether it is a shelled egg or an unpeeled egg, it cannot be heated directly in a microwave oven.

In addition to eggs, unopened nuts, pine nuts, sausages with casings, some fruits (grapes with skin, blueberries, cherry tomatoes), sealed milk in boxes or bags, dried chilies, etc. cannot be put into the microwave.
There are also some containers made of materials that cannot be heated in the microwave, such as tinfoil packaging, foam boxes, cans, plastic bowls, milk cartons, paper boxes, wooden containers, enamel containers, ordinary glass containers, and any containers containing metal components.

In addition, you cannot use a microwave to heat cold water, because when a microwave heats water, even if the water has boiled, you will not see it boiling. If it is touched by external force, it will boil violently and easily cause burns.

Summarize

Kitchen safety is no small matter! For the health and safety of your family, you must pay attention to these 9 kitchen safety hazards.

References

[1] Li Siqi. Quantitative hazard assessment of grain dust explosion[D]. Northeastern University, 2014.

[2] Li Xu, Li Xiaodan. Harm of restaurant fumes to human health[J]. Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection, 2019, (2): 28-29.

[3] Chi Jianwei, Wei Zhencheng, Xu Zhihong, et al. Application and development of microwave technology in food processing [J]. Freshness and Processing, 2003, 3(001):7-9.

Planning and production

Author: Xue Qingxin, one of the first nutrition instructors of the National Health Commission, and a registered nutritionist in China

Reviewer: Wei Rui, Professor of the School of Chemistry, Beijing Normal University

Planning丨Zhong Yanping

Editor: Zhong Yanping