By Deborah Bamisaye
It’s so good to have you on this page again. You are most welcome! You mean the sponge we spoke about the last time? Omo, come and see my sponge bathing in serious hot water. Did I just say hot water? I mean I literally cooked my kitchen sponge for some minutes because for me, those billions of bacteria should find no place in my kitchen. What about you? If possible, you may let me know what action you took on yours in the comment section.
Our focus today on this series will be: ‘The Phone that seasons your food.’ Can we say that together? Good! I know you are not repeating nursery rhymes but anything for our health is okay, right? Can we dive in now? Of course, we can!
Now, imagine this: ‘If mobile phones could testify in court, many kitchens would have serious questions to answer.
The courtroom was packed, the judge adjusted his glasses.
“The next witness, please.” A mobile phone was ushered into the witness box and the prosecutor rose slowly.
“Kindly state your name.” – “My name is ‘Mobile Phone.'”
“Occupation?” – “I serve as her companion, messenger, entertainer, alarm clock, photographer… and (stutters) and… (clearing throat…) and occasionally, an uninvited carrier of germs.”
“Where were you this morning?” – “In the bathroom.”
“After that?” – “On the office desk.”
“And then?” – “Inside a handbag.”
“Next?” – “On a restaurant table.”
“And finally?” – “Inside the kitchen… between the chopping board and the pot of soup.”
(The courtroom fell silent.)
The prosecutor leaned forward, adjusted his tie and asked quietly: “So, after travelling through all those places, you were picked up by the same hands that sliced the tomatoes, stirred the soup and served the family’s lunch?”
(Silence) The phone had no answer…Neither, perhaps, do many of us.
The truth is, our mobile phones travel through places our food should never visit. Yet, every day, without giving it a second thought, we touch them… and then we touch our food.
No argument.
No hesitation.
No hand washing in between.
Interesting, isn’t it?
Now, before your phone starts looking at you suspiciously, let’s have an honest conversation, because the next ingredient finding its way into your meal may not have come from those other places you are suspecting. It could be from a visitor.
The One Kitchen Visitor Nobody Washes
Permit me to ask you a few harmless questions: “How many times have you washed your hands today? Really! Now, how many times have you washed your mobile phone? And why are you quiet? You thought it’s a foolish question, right?” “Exactly!”
That silence you just observed is louder than any answer you could have given. Our phones have become the most travelled members of the family. They accompany us almost everywhere. The office welcomes them. The market receives them. Banks shake hands with them. Car seats embrace them. Some even follow us into places where good manners advise they should never go.
Yet, after all those journeys, we bring them into the kitchen like honoured guests.
Nobody interrogates them.
Nobody asks where they have been. Nobody says, “Excuse me, kindly wash before entering.”
Instead, we answer a call while stirring soup, reply to a message while seasoning chicken, scroll through a recipe while kneading dough, and continue cooking as though nothing happened.
Hmmm! If only germs could speak, they would probably say, “Thank you for the free ride.”
The Invisible Fingerprints
One of the greatest misconceptions about dirt is that it must be visible before it becomes dangerous. Not always! Some of the greatest enemies of good health are masters of disguise. A phone screen can sparkle like newly polished glass and still carry microorganisms picked up from every surface it has visited throughout the day.
This is why microbiologists often remind us that appearance is a poor judge of cleanliness. Looking clean and being clean are not twins. They are merely cousins who don’t always live in the same house.
“Just One Quick Call…”
That is how it usually begins.
“Let me answer this call.”
“Let me quickly check who sent the message.”
“Let me reply in two seconds.”
“Let me watch this recipe.”
There is absolutely nothing wrong with using your phone. The problem begins when your fingers return straight from the phone to the food without making a brief stop at the sink.
It happens so naturally that many of us no longer notice it but bacteria notice and they are excellent travelers.
· They do not own cars.
· They do not buy flight tickets.
· They simply hitchhike on our fingertips.
Science Has Been Watching
Scientists have examined mobile phones for years, and the findings have been remarkably consistent. Because our phones are handled constantly and are rarely cleaned, they can harbour large numbers of microorganisms transferred from our hands and the surfaces we touch.
Nigerian Researchers (Lagos State University & University of Lagos)
This is probably the strongest local evidence for your readers because it was carried out by Nigerian scientists. Researchers from Lagos State University and the University of Lagos College of Medicine swabbed 400 mobile phones belonging to food vendors, lecturers/students, public servants and healthcare workers. They found that 62% of the phones carried bacteria, including organisms such as Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli (E. coli), Klebsiella species and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
The researchers concluded that mobile phones may act as vehicles for transmitting bacteria and recommended regular handwashing as one of the best preventive measures.
The World Health Organization continues to remind us that keeping hands, food-contact surfaces and utensils clean is one of the most effective ways to reduce the spread of foodborne diseases. The truth is simple: if our hands carry germs from the phone to the food, our meals become unintended vehicles of contamination.
The phone is not the enemy.
Our habits are.
The issue of the habit of phone use is a conversation that is far from finish. Do we consider convenience over common sense on this matter? Let’s begin the conversation from there next time. I trust you can’t wait! See you soon!
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