Germ-Killing Chemical Used In New Line Of Kitchen Tools

Someone, it seems, has to profit from the food safety scare.

Just months after the government recalled 25 million pounds of tainted beef and after a barrage of reports of food poisonings from fresh berries and other produce, kitchen product manufacturers are introducing utensils that promise germ-fighting protection for home cooks.

Farberware, for instance, plans to unveil about 50 kitchen items - from cutting boards to potato peelers - made with Microban, a chemical that not only retards the growth of bacteria but kills germs on its surface.

“Bacteria and germs are certainly on the customers’ minds,” said Jeff Siegel, president of Lifetime Hoan, which owns the kitchen gadget division of Farberware. “We feel that we’re giving the customer something better.”

The active ingredient in antibacterial products is triclosan, a chemical used for more than 25 years in hospital hand soap. The Microban Co. of Huntersville, N.C., found a way to incorporate triclosan into plastic and fibers, making it usable in such items as plastic cutting boards, pastry brushes, rubber spatulas and mops.

Makers of triclosan claim it inhibits the growth of, and eventually kills, bacteria that it comes in contact with.

It works, said Philip M. Tierno, the director of clinical microbiology at New York University Medical Center’s Tisch Hospital in New York City.

Tierno has tested toys containing triclosan, but not kitchen gadgets. According to his tests, 99 percent of the bacteria left on a surface made with triclosan dies within two hours. Left alone, bacteria can double in 20 minutes; 100 organisms can become a million in eight to 10 hours.

Cutting boards are one of the most logical applications for antibacterial technology.

“The bottom line is, when you use (a cutting board without triclosan), and you get a fissure or a crack, it’s just waiting for someone to come along with their knife and get it in their salad,” Tierno said. “Cutting boards have been notoriously bad with regard to passing organisms.”

But food safety experts caution that triclosan is not a cure-all. And many, including Tierno, question its application in many household gadgets.

Take knives, for example. Because triclosan cannot be infused into metal, it can only be used in the plastic handle. But the blade is more likely to come into contact with harmful bacteria from food. Likewise, it can be put into the handle, but not the wheel, of a pizza cutter, or the handle, but not the surface, of a cheese grater.

“For the life of me, I have difficulty seeing the usefulness of it in a cheese grater,” Tierno said.

His rule of thumb for determining whether a utensil is better with Microban is to ask whether it is something that cannot be cleaned easily or something that is handled by many people. The plastic cutting board that may end up with deep knife cuts or a turkey baster are good candidates.

It costs, at most, about $3 more for a cutting board made with Microban, said Farberware’s Siegel. On average, he said, Farberware will charge an extra 40 cents for a gadget made with Microban. Farberware does not charge extra for knives with Microban, he said, because the handle is an insignificant part of the cost of making a knife.

Dean Cliver, a food safety expert at the University of California, Davis, stresses that hand washing remains critical in preventing the spread of bacteria in the kitchen.

“I personally believe the biggest source of contaminants is unwashed hands,” he said. As for Microban, he has not studied it and does not have much confidence that using it will make a big difference in the kitchen.

Cliver is best known for his studies comparing wooden and plastic cutting boards. His latest research found that wooden cutting boards are actually safer than plastic ones (he hasn’t studied the Microban boards) for many reasons, including the fact that wood draws moisture and bacteria deep into the cutting board, where they cannot be retrieved later. Plastic, on the other hand, keeps bacteria closer to the surface, especially when the board is covered with knife cuts.

There are plenty of ways to protect against germs in the kitchen without replacing utensils with new ones containing triclosan, Cliver and other experts say. Sponges, for example, can be wrung out and microwaved for 30 seconds. Dishwashers do a good job of killing germs because of the high temperatures used.

Microban’s manufacturers admit it is no miracle cure. “We call this an adjunct to good hygiene,” said Microban president Glenn Cueman. “Keep doing all the good things you do. We’re just saying this makes you that much safer.”