The sink environment as a source of microbial contamination in the domestic kitchen.

Samples from the sink base, draining board, joint around the tap and tap nozzle surfaces were taken in 35 homes and analysed for bacteria, particularly E. coli and Salmonella. The surfaces were stainless steel. Total bacterial counts of over 100/cm2 are considered to represent high contamination levels. 14% of sink basins, 6% of draining boards and 17% of joints around the tap had >1 million bacteria/cm2. There was a high occurrence of both E. coli and Salmonella from all sites, for example 29% of joints around the sink were positive for Salmonella and 54% of sink basins were positive for E. coli. Food and Environmental Sanitation 2002;22(9):658-666.