Would Your Kitchen Pass a Restaurant Inspection?

New research shows that 1 in 7 home kitchens would fail a health department inspection commonly used for restaurants. Would yours pass?

"In 2006, the Los Angeles county health department began a home kitchen self-inspection program, designed to help consumers learn how to store and prepare food safely. The department also began offering an online quiz with 45 yes or no questions that simulates a restaurant inspection checklist.

People are asked, for example, if their refrigerator temperature is 41 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, whether raw meat is stored below other foods on refrigerator shelves, and whether fruits and vegetables are always thoroughly rinsed before they are eaten.

An estimated 87 million cases of food-borne illness occur in the United States each year, including 371,000 hospitalizations and 5,700 deaths, according to an Associated Press calculation that uses a CDC formula and recent population estimates.

Many outbreaks that receive publicity are centered on people who got sick after eating at a restaurant, catered celebration or large social gathering. In this summer's outbreak linked to salmonella in eggs, several illnesses were first identified in clusters among restaurant patrons.

But experts believe the bulk of food poisonings are unreported illnesses from food prepared at home.

The study is being published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a publication of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

Try the Food Safety Quiz: http://bit.ly/aMyIdw
Read the CDC publication: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr