Safety

Microwaves prove sponge-worthy for infection control

OSHA Healthcare Connection, January 30, 2007

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You can add basic infection control to the popcorn popping and left-over "nuking" duties of your microwave.

Engineering researchers at the University of Florida discovered that a microwave oven can sterilize kitchen sponges and scrubbers against bacteria and viruses causing foodborne-illnesses, including E. coli and salmonella.

Two minutes on full power killed 90% of pathogens from sponges soaked in raw waste water. Researchers also tried to decontaminate a syringe, but that took at least 12 minutes.

The report appeared in the December issue of the Journal of Environmental Health.



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