science from kitchen

                          with surya

Where to get help

• Your doctor

• Local government (council) health department

Things to remember

• Evidence suggests that the use of antibacterial and antimicrobial cleaning products – particularly in combination with the over-prescription of antibiotics – may produce strains of multi-resistant organisms.

• Antibacterial and antimicrobial cleaning products are no better at eliminating bacteria than c...

How to reduce the effects of harmful bacteria

Food poisoning is a major health risk. Around 11,500 Australians are affected by food poisoning every day. This is caused by poor food storage, preparation and handling. To reduce this risk, you should:

• Wash and dry your hands after going to the toilet, blowing your nose and before handling food – especially between handling raw and cooked food.

• Use disposable paper towels to dry your han...

Cleaning products may contribute to antibiotic resistance

There is some evidence that the use of antibacterial and antimicrobial cleaning products – combined with the over-prescription of antibiotics – may produce strains of bacteria that are resistant to disinfectants and antibiotics. There are several issues involved:

• There may not be enough of the antibacterial or antimicrobial agent in these cleaning products to destroy bact...

bacteria are beneficial

Most bacteria actually help humans. For example, intestinal bacteria help us to digest food. The ‘good’ bacteria that naturally live on and inside our bodies help us stay healthy by keeping the numbers of ‘bad’, disease-causing bacteria under control.

When you use antibacterial or antimicrobial cleaning products, good bacteria are also killed. This could be harmful if the ratio of good to bad bacteri...